[Robotgroup] Cool NASA News

[Evan Harris]

Something similar which you don't really see here in the states but that is 
fairly common in Europe (possibly elsewhere too), is electrical induction 
based stovetops for cooking.  Don't know why it doesn't seem to have gotten 
any traction here, other than it of course doesn't work with 
non-ferrous/non-magnetic cookware.

Evan


On Wed, 20 Jun 2007, Gray Mack wrote:

> 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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