[Robotgroup] Cool NASA News

[Gray Mack]

I would guess that a close, directed, induction path
could be about as efficient as a wall wart transformer
and that a larger air gap could be made to be somewhat
efficient if it was precicely focused through some
modern EM design research (Thats probably the only
thing making it better than Mr Tesla's original work)
but a broadcast 'pad' that radiates spherically
outward sounds like it would have to be inefficient,
huh? 
Some good use ideas:
No exposed contacts on that waterproof elect razor
charger to get shorted out.
Send power to a rotating device mounted on a brushless
motor without the need to have mechanical contacts
that wear out.
A low powered wireless computer mouse that never needs
to be put in its charging cradle. Since it also
transmits data, it can tell the mouse pad how much
power it needs when in use or idle.
Again, my favorite, little robots that dont need
batteries, or to find their way back to the charger
and plug in!
-Gray

--- Edwin Wise <edwin at simreal.com> wrote:

> 
> On 19 Jun 2007, at 12:24 PM, Clendon Gibson wrote:
> 
> > Just out of curiosity, how efficient are these
> recharge pads  
> > supposed to be? It seems to me like they would
> throw away some  
> > percent of the energy just because of the
> antenna/coil shape.
> 
> A good question in our current age of trying to be
> efficient to  
> reduce emissions by power plants...
> 
> I do note that my electric toothbrush already
> recharges by induction...
> 
> Edwin!
> 
> 
> 
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