Apple's Interest in WiTricity Wireless Charging

[Thunderhawks]

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Imagine having one under your desk where it can charge a variety if devices at once. Put another one under your sofa/coffee table to charge phones, tablets and laptops whilst they are being used in the living room. Eventually we could see them as standard in cars for charging gadgets.

By the time we are all charged up, everybody has fried eggs. Male or female.

We need a red light on each door in our rooms, which lights up:

Charging in progress. Do not enter!

Knowing humans, this will be done, with enough inconclusive support studies by the pro and con fans of this technology.

No need to participate. Cables behind a closet or run under a carpet are doing fine for me until this shakes out.

 

[cozmot]

The technology is said to be safe, relying on magnetic fields.

Sounds scary and makes me think of the Philadelphia Experiment.

 

[tdream]

LoL at all the downranking for posts being concerned about radiation issues. Ever wonder why land near powerlines is much cheaper? Normally they are far away from the buildings right? Now imagine a much lower powerline that actually radiates as part of it's featureset being on 24/7. Good for the environment? No.

Don't worry though guys, let your health lie with people who put profit first. Institutions like the USDA and insurance companies. They have your interest first...

 

[ksgant]

This is a long way from being safe or practical.
Just some issues.
1- cancer, if there can said to be a risk of cancer from the EM fields from using a cell phone, you can expect a risk from this type of field all around you all day.

Yes, there is "said" to be risks of cancer from using a cell phone...with not one shred of scientific proof given. Yes, the WHO (World Health Organization) gave a warning a few months back, but they didn't back it up with any hard research or facts...just said it "may be a risk".

I mean, hell I can say it's said there's a risk of cancer from looking directly at pigeons for more than 10 seconds...doesn't make it true.

But I'm sure people are going to come out of the woodworks saying how this "spooky" technology is going to give us all horrible diseases and don't trust it and it's a conspiracy and they're gonna try to take our guns! .....okay, went a little off message there, but you get my point. Hopefully.

 

[Stok3]

imagine the light show during a thunderstorm

 

[iStudentUK]

Didn't the phrase:

I'm from the government and here to help

win in the biggest lie contest?

I know people always love to criticise governments and red tape but this is just silly. The amount of red tape in regards to public safety is enormous. Certainly here in the EU there seems to be a strong slant towards the cautious end of the spectrum. That's a good thing.

This WiTricity isn't using high power or frequencies. It is emitting a tiny field. As I noted earlier in the tread, it's probably similar to a typical TV.

1- cancer, if there can said to be a risk of cancer from the EM fields from using a cell phone, you can expect a risk from this type of field all around you all day.

This was painful to read. You can't really compare the frequencies/strength/power used by mobile phones compared to WiTricity. Orders of magnitude difference.

 

[underkuerbis]

Read an article about this in wired a while ago. Could have a lot of potential.

Quite sarcastic reading about this on a magazine called, well, wired.

I always assumed WiTricity being the future making things a lot easier and more comfortable. Powering keyboards, mice, charging phones and so on. Really looking forward to this stuff.

 

[Supermacguy]

The idea of exposing people all over to magnetic fields is about the dumbest idea I ever heard of.
The idea the because we can't observe the effect, that it doesn't exist, is also stupid.
I am a physician who frequently works with high magnetic fields, that are tuned to the body, we induce currents in people. you can feel it. This is not proven safe, and needs many decades of research to prove it won't hurt us, specifically unborn children whose rapidly dividing cells are particularly susceptible to all sorts of perturbations.
We should learn to live with the petty inconveniences of hiding wires.

Amen brother.

Cancer city.
Not to mention a ridiculous drain on resources and the planet.
Forget it.

I totally agree with these sentiments. I would not allow my pregnant wife near one of these fields! Imagine if, (just IF), all of us using this started to have abnormal births/retardations/autism/etc. What better off would our lives, our children's lives be, that we sacrificed our own children for 2 seconds of wireless convenience?
I am adopting an Amish point of view-- I am skeptical of using new technology until it's proven harmless to me physically and to society.

Imagine a world with mobile electricity. Our iPhones would have no battery in them, allowing for iPod Touch-thinness, or possibly added functionality. Quad core cell phone@ 2ghz anyone? Just add a mini-fan.

Imagine you go somewhere where there's not "free" power. Now you have to register and pay. Imagine you travel to the sticks/boonies or central Africa, where you're lucky to even have wired power. What then?

 

[ctdonath]

Warning: May damage pacemakers?

That's my first question, being a cyborg. I've been warned against close proximity to electromagnetic field generators from chainsaws to dangling earphones around my neck to holding a cell phone with my shoulder. An EM field strong enough to power a charger might be fatal. Must investigate...

 

[HowieR32]

The idea of exposing people all over to magnetic fields is about the dumbest idea I ever heard of.
The idea the because we can't observe the effect, that it doesn't exist, is also stupid.
I am a physician who frequently works with high magnetic fields, that are tuned to the body, we induce currents in people. you can feel it. This is not proven safe, and needs many decades of research to prove it won't hurt us, specifically unborn children whose rapidly dividing cells are particularly susceptible to all sorts of perturbations.
We should learn to live with the petty inconveniences of hiding wires.

Sorry mate, I think the only 'dumb' notion is the title to your post; that it is 'dangerous', is just a bit too ignorant.

We are always 'exposed' to electromagnetic radiation. It's everywhere and it's electromagnetic radiation that we humans depend on to live.

From the lower frequency range of hundreds of hertz is AC electricity, to the MHz and GHz range of radio waves that you get from television to cell-phone communication. The heat you feel on a warm summers day? = Infrared radiation... the stuff is everywhere! the radio, analog & digital signal to your television, to the higher stuff - 390 to 710 Terahertz (THz) you get.... VISIBLE LIGHT. That radiation is absorbed by your eye so you can SEE.

A tad higher, you get the UV light, which humans need 'some' of to generate certain vitamins, regulate sleeping patterns and all sorts of other systems which depend on it that physicians like yourself are still only beginning to understand. But I'm not a physician; I'm sure you understand it and leave the medical stuff to you and your colleagues.

Using a tiny slither of the body of knowledge of the electromagnetic spectrum to tell you how silly your comments are is, as they say, a bit tritely. So I will comment that your approach to 'safety' is, at least, guided with good intent; that we need to take care with technology that could potentially affect the foetus...

but to say that exposing people to magnetic fields is the dumbest idea you heard of, is... the dumbest thing I've heard of.

You're a 'physician'. I'm a 'physicist'. Let's stick to what we know and work together and not say silly things about topics that we don't really know about



PS... Okay, I'm not a physicist; I'm an electrical engineer in low and high frequency electromagnetic applications. It juxtaposes well with 'physician', no?

 

[kyle1320]

If it relies on magnetic fields, couldn't putting your credit card in the charging area ruin it? :/

 

[jonnysods]

In other news, cancer among users of wireless charging technology goes up 10,000%

 

[HowieR32]

Should I go on? Human's get a less-rested sleep when they sleep next to their cellphone.

My gosh! You're right! I do notice I don't sleep well next to my mobile phone. Maybe I should just turn off the alarm so it doesn't wake me up in the early mornings...

When 2 humans sleep next to each other, their sleep patters can match up.

And you're right again! How do you know!? My missus wakes up the same time I do... maybe because I wake her up so we can have breakfast together? Hmmm such incredible discoveries!

Should I go on?

I, for one, will pass on 'captain obvious' comments next time...

 

[JohnMarkHarris]

Beware Magnetic Fields

There's a pretty strong magnetic field generator most of us live close to - it's called Earth

 

[iSRS]

Amazing technology, I bet it's available on Android before Apple.

What are your thoughts about this technology Arn?

Update: Go on fanboys, flag me down because you know this to be true. If it took Apple four years to implement something as simple as folders, I wouldn't hold your breath on this. And yes, this is a valid post that should remind all of us how slow Apple is to implement features. Remember how cool the iPhone 4 antennae was? Remember Antenna-gate? If you even bother to read the article, it says it's already in use by the Palm- hold on, didn't HP just buy them? Doesn't HP use Android? Sounds to me like even more evidence that it will run on Android first, this isn't necessarily a bad thing people. It's like all the people who bought the first iPad, they were the millions of guinea pigs that allowed us iPad 2 users to have the amazing feature to print. Like I said, Apple isn't always on their game.

Maybe it's a good thing, wouldn't want to get cancer now would we?

No, HP does NOT run Android. They run webOS, which they picked up with their purchase of Palm last year. Just wanted to answer this question. Again, this technology is already in the Palm devices using webOS, but as the article states, needs to be placed on a touchstone charger. This technology seems to be near field.

Apple often isn't first, they admit as much. They also don't just throw ports/technology out there because they can, they look for the value add to their customers. Are there people they will never be able to satisfy because of their practices? Yes. But you can not argue that their business model works extremely well for them. You want "total" control over your "off the shelf" smartphone? Get a droid. You want a machine with every available port known to man? Go build yourself a Windows PC. Most people, (not just tech people, most people overall) just don't care.

 

[iStudentUK]

Sorry mate, I think the only 'dumb' notion is the title to your post; that it is 'dangerous', is just a bit too ignorant.

We are always 'exposed' to electromagnetic radiation. It's everywhere and it's electromagnetic radiation that we humans depend on to live.but to say that exposing people to magnetic fields is the dumbest idea you heard of, is... the dumbest thing I've heard of.

Whilst you are right to call out Man4allsea on his comments there is a difference between electromagnetic radiation and magnetic fields.

Very strong magnetic fields can be dangerous, as can very high frequency electromagnetic radiation. However, WiTricity operates at 10MHz (very low) and has a magnetic field strength of 0.1uT (very low). Medical X-rays operate in the petahertz region and MRI machines (or NMR machines as they should be called!) use a magnetic filed of over 1T. To compare WiTricity to the magnetic exposure in medicine is madness.

If it relies on magnetic fields, couldn't putting your credit card in the charging area ruin it? :/

No. The magnetic field isn't even remotely strong enough.

 

[aibo82]

The asbestos revolution of today!

They thought that was safe now we spend thousands getting rid of it.

 

[Thunderhawks]

If it relies on magnetic fields, couldn't putting your credit card in the charging area ruin it? :/

No, all credit cards are for charging to begin with

 

[CindyRed]

I have a glass desk that's completely clear, save some photos, a vase, a cup of pens, my MacBook and one scraggly bunk ass wire hanging out from the side of my notebook. I want that wire to go away, and I have the feeling I'm not the only one.

 

[aibo82]

I have a glass desk that's completely clear, save some photos, a vase, a cup of pens, my MacBook and one scraggly bunk ass wire hanging out from the side of my notebook. I want that wire to go away, and I have the feeling I'm not the only one.

Use the battery you get apples 8 hour life that's all day! And at night plug it in and close your eyes you won't even see it!

 

[Thunderhawks]

The asbestos revolution of today!

They thought that was safe now we spend thousands getting rid of it.

And approved and no issue by the government(s) agencies.

Same for smoking and second hand smoke. Took a while before finding out.

And to the UK poster speaking highly of EU red tape and governments
carefulness, didn't the UK have BSE = Mad cows disease with the government initially doing NOTHING!?

Didn't Germany and AUstria have GLYCOL in wine?

There are plenty of instances where the government fails its people, be it by being behind in scientific knowledge or supervision of laws.

 

[Mark Booth]

Wonder if this is safe at all for people with pacemakers.

I have the same question.

Mark

 

[Ulf1103]

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I know this kind of tegnologie. On duscovery channel they transfert electricity from space (solarpower) to eath
Sow a few meters can't be that hard

 

[aibo82]

See it's all a bit pointless for tv to have mobile power...

You have a tv maybe 2-7years install the cable once and the cable is there for the next one! It's a once only thing really it's down to laziness!! So people would rather go into the loft and install a coil...

Just plug it in jeeze...

Mobiles yes, home appliance no! I don't want to spend the day moving the washer to a new position because I can!

 

[aibo82]

I have the same question.

Mark

Alma check ya battery (sister act quote)

Who knows it could charge it up