Why discuss fireflies, the enchanting nocturnal denizens of fields and lawns, when this article addresses the MIT breakthrough of wireless power. The reason - resonance. When large numbers of fireflies congregate, they synchronize their flashes so that the whole group acts like one single firefly writ large akin to how a
Bose-Einstein Condensate functions when a gas of super cooled atoms (Rubidium etc., etc.) act as one quantum object when the temperature nears absolute zero and the atoms are coaxed into the BEC state through the precise use of lasers.
In the case of MIT, the key to achieving wireless power centers on resonance as this enables the efficient transfer of power over long distances, thus possibly ushering in the age of remotely powered laptops, smart phones and LEDs without the need for batteries or wires.
Tres cool, n'est pas?
No comments:
Post a Comment