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Tag Archives: Energy

Wireless Power Part II – Was Nikola Tesla Right?

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

A couple weeks ago, I posted that a small company named PowerMat had created a mat that delivered power wirelessly to small appliances like cell phone, shavers, etc.  Because the device and the mat still needed to be in contact, I claimed that this was not true wireless power delivery, and declared myself the winner in a bet between myself and friend who we know as Tim.   He had claimed that we would soon have wireless power delivery, while I felt that sending power will-nilly through the air was a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Well today, I came across a few new articles.  Ok, I did not come across them, Tim sent them to me after realizing that I had claimed victory.  Apparently some researchers at MIT lit a 60-watt light bulb by transferring energy through the air from the power delivery base to a device attached to the bulb.  The researchers have dubbed their invention, “WiTricity”.

Essentially they have extended induction’s reach by projecting a magnetic field from a length of coiled wire that has two ends almost touching, which forms a gap.   This gap forces electrons to travel back and forth through the coil, creating a magnetic field that oscillates at a specific frequency. The device attached to the light bulb has a similar gap with the exact same frequency, thereby allowing it to “pickup” the energy.

Backing my claim, theoretical physicist Douglas Stone of Yale University commented, “The big showstopper for this, would be if people, entities or devices that are not supposed to absorb the radiation do absorb it.”  In layman’s terms, that means if you got in the way of a couple hundred watts, you would feel like you stepped into a microwave oven.

Tim also cited several articles, including Pinpoint microwave resolution could lead to wireless power transfer and a Biography of Nikola Tesla which you can read at your leisure.  So what do you think, is Tim right and we will soon have wireless power delivery, or am I right and we should just stick to wires?

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Texans Tilt at Windmills – Take Care Cries Sancho!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Don Quixote beware, West Texans are erecting giant wind farms as quickly as they can.  In order to move the electricity that is being generated, more than $4.9 billion is being spent on an ambitious plan to set up transmission lines to carry the wind power generated  to surrounding urban areas.

The newly installed lines will be able to handle 18,000 MW, currently more than three time the amount of power currently being generated through existing wind farms.  The new capacity will provide the infrastructure to greatly increase the number of windmills, and get that energy to customers who are located far from the actual power production.  The Public Utility Commission will pay for the expansion with a $3-$4 surcharge on customer’s existing electric bill.

Texas estimates that they could produce over 500,000 MW solely on wind power.   That type of capacity would equal almost 5 times Texas’s current electrical usage.  If all goes as planned, the excess capacity could be sold off to other neighboring states, or even into Mexico.   New windmills are being installed at a rapid rate, and has more than tripled in the last three years.

Boone Pickens is driving the charge in Texas, as the former oil man is investing over $10 Billion in the Mother of all Wind Farms.  He recently claimed, “”I have the same feelings about wind, as I had about the best oil field I ever found.”   This new wind farm would consist of over 2,00 turbines spread across 200,000 acres, and would have a capacity of between 2-4,000 MegaWatts.

The quaint windmills of Don Quixote’s time are now being replaced by giant turbines that stand as high as 20-story buildings.   Although Sancho’s cry of warning would now be best heeded by the local birds and bats.   However, the National Research Council, the research arm of the Academy of Sciences, recently has reported that wind turbines barely have any effect on bird populations.  They claim very small numbers of deaths, but have warned that bats may be more at risk.  Apparently these animals seem to be attracted to the windmills, although the reason why is unknown.

Once this project is completed, Texas will become the largest generator of clean, renewable, wind power.   Not only will this project create thousands of new jobs here in the US, it will also be used as an example of what can be accomplished in a short time frame.  It may take Texans a little time to get used to wind mills out in the field instead of oil wells, but this is great for Texas and for the US.

Filed in Energy-Independence, Green, Oil Companies | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (3)

Wireless Power to Electronic Devices

Monday, July 14, 2008

A friend and I have argued for quite some time about if we will ever have true wireless power, similar to how we have wireless Internet connectivity, Bluetooth, Infrared, etc.  I always tell him, if you start sending energy willy-nilly through the air, you will hit someone and kill them.

A company called Powermat has developed some pretty cool technology that creates an “almost” wireless power source.  It is called the powermat and utilizes the principles of magnetic induction to transmit electrical power via an ultra thin mat embedded in, or overlaid on, any surface or wall, to electronic devices placed randomly upon it.  While not truly wireless, it does seem like it could help de-clutter our cabled power world.

For now, I still think I have won the bet, as technically a device still needs to contact the powermat, but who knows, maybe true wireless power delivery will exist someday…

Take a look at it here.  They also have a witty blog here.

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Check out Lion Electric Vehicles

Friday, July 11, 2008

I recently stumbled across Lion Electric Vehicles.  These guys have some great new technology that enables you to hop-up your existing hybrid by swapping out your existing batteries with new batteries can greatly increase your range. 

 cells_shipping

And even more incredible is that they are selling Ford Escape Hybrids that have already been modified with their new technology.  Changes to the battery pack and the sensor program allow it to run on EV entirely within city speed ranges.  On the highway it operates as an ICE vehicle with electric boost.

ford-escape-hybrid_courtesy_photo_ford

These guys are based out of VA, but have facilities all over the world.  It is nice to see a US company developing new technology that will help power the new energy-independence economy.  I am hopeful that our current energy crisis well help pour capital into companies like Lion which will help develop the new technologies required to achieve our goal of energy independence.


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Lexington Project

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Well, it appears that John McCain has been following my blog. Today he has kicked off his plan for US Energy Independence, named The Lexington Plan. McCain’s plan states that the U.S. will be independent of foreign energy sources by the year 2025.

For the town where Americans asserted their independence once before,” McCain explained of the plan’s namesake in Virginia. “Let it begin today with this commitment: In a world of hostile and unstable suppliers of oil, this nation will achieve strategic independence by 2025.”

“Much will be asked of industry as well, as automakers and others adapt to this great turn toward new sources of power, a great deal will depend on each one of us, as we learn to make smarter use of energy, and also to draw on the best ideas of both parties, and work together for the common good.”

“That is the scale of our achievement when we set our minds to a task, that is what this country can do when we see a danger, and declare a purpose, and find the will to act.”

As the readers of my blog will notice, that is exactly what we have been saying here for the past several months. If the country focuses, and asks for sacrifice, we can become energy independent in the not too distant future. What a difference that will make across out country, as well as around the world. We can stop the huge transfer of wealth from the US to the Middle East while strengthening our economy.

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McCain’s $300 million “Prize”

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

In a speech today at Fresno State University in California, the Republican presidential candidate outlined his proposal for a $300 million prize for new technology that would be 30% cheaper than current batteries and have “the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.” He did not offer any technical specifics! I guess if he could have, we would not need a “prize”. I like the concept, but we need to pump more then $300 million into the search for alternate energy. I would like to see $100 Billion a year for the next 10 years.

McCain called the taxpayer-funded prize — $1 for every man, woman and child — “a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency.” If $1 is cheap, why not $333 a year? Maybe then we can make a real difference.

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