Tesla Would Be Proud: Wireless Charging For Electric Cars Gets Closer To Reality 176
curtwoodward writes "For some reason, we're still plugging in electric-powered devices like a bunch of savages. But technology developed at MIT could soon make that a thing of the past, at least for hybrid cars. A small Boston-area company, WiTricity, is a key part of Toyota's growing experiment with wireless charging tech---something the world's largest car maker says it will start seriously testing in the U.S., Japan and Europe next year. The system works by converting AC to a higher frequency and voltage and sending it to a receiver that resonates at the same frequency, making it possible to transfer the power safely via magnetic field. Intel and Foxconn are also investors, and you might see them license the tech soon as well."
Re:I would like to turn my nerd card in (Score:5, Interesting)
I have written several papers through out my life about Tesla. The fact that everyone goes on and on about the stuff Tesla didn't invent and has no clue about the work he actually did is annoying as hell.
The Oatmeal ruined pretty much everything about Tesla.
Old news for buses (Score:5, Interesting)
Italy has been using this for buses since 2003.
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/08/induction-charged-buses/ [wired.com]
Re:I would like to turn my nerd card in (Score:4, Interesting)
So what exactly did the oatmeal get wrong?
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla [theoatmeal.com]
Re:I would like to turn my nerd card in (Score:4, Interesting)
The problem with Tesla is that so much of his work has been mythologized that a lot of people have come to sort of dismiss it out of hand. It seems like every biographical portrayal of him in popular culture has to make him off as some sort of mystical magician, nutcase, or miracle worker. I remember an "In Search Of" episode when I was a kid that claimed he had built Stonehenge, developed a teleporter, and communicated with aliens. And don't get me started on his portrayal in The Prestige [wikipedia.org].
I was well into my adulthood before I realized that he was an actual engineer who built real stuff, and not just some conspiracy theorist's concoction. As a kid, he went into the same category to me as Uri Geller and the aliens who built the pyramids.
Re:Efficient? (Score:4, Interesting)
Why park? If our freeways could power electric cars wirelessly, you could drive forever without stopping to recharge. Line the freeway median with solar panels, and the loss of wireless transmission is offset by minimizing losses through power lines and battery storage.