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Radio waves to power all your gadgets soon

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Talk about harvesting electricity wirelessly has been in the air for some time now. Apparently, it appears that it will become a reality sooner than expected.

Earlier this year, Joshua Smith at Intel and Alanson Sample at the University of Washington in Seattle had developed a temperature-and-humidity sensor which can be powered with the help of the signal emitted by 1 megawatt TV antenna which is 4.1 kilometer away and can generate 60 microwatts. And now, researchers at the Nokia Research Centre in Cambridge, UK are working on technology that can charge Nokia phones from ambient radio waves, also known as electromagnetic radiation, from antennas, Wi-Fi transmitters, television broadcasts, microwave ovens and others as a source of power. The antenna and the receiver circuit are designed to pick up the frequencies as low as 500-megahertz up to 10 gigahertz and would convert the electromagnetic waves to an electrical current, and the second circuit takes the current to the battery to charge it. The energy produced is enough to keep a cellphone on standby mode. The current prototype of the device can harness up to 5 milliwatts of electricity. Researchers are eyeing a short-term goal of 20 milliwatts for now, which still is too little in comparison to the 50 milliwatts actually needed to power a cellphone.

What about powering other gadgets?

The technology aims to charge other gadgets too, including MP3 players, which require 100 milliwatts of power, portables games, handheld devices, Kindles and many more. The amazing technology would certainly give a new dimension to the burgeoning mobile market. However, for now, you’ll have to wait for another three years to see it in action.

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