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TED Tech
How wireless energy from space could power everything | Ali Hajimiri
Aug 25, 2023
Electrical engineer Ali Hajimiri explains wireless energy transfer principles and shares his vision of launching solar panels into space to collect sunlight, convert it to electrical power, and beam it down to Earth. He discusses the potential of wireless power to transform energy transfer and eliminate physical wires, the role of wave interference in directing energy waves, and new lightweight fabric-like structures as power stations for wireless energy transfer from space.
11:50
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Quick takeaways
- Wireless energy transfer technology has the potential to power everything by sending energy wirelessly to specific locations without mechanical movement, revolutionizing energy distribution.
- Integrating flexible fabric-like structures with electronic circuitry offers a promising approach for transmitting solar energy wirelessly from space to Earth, providing sustainable solutions for areas with limited power resources or challenges in delivering energy.
Deep dives
Wireless Power: Harnessing Energy Alternatives
The podcast episode explores the concept of wireless power and its potential to revolutionize energy distribution. The guest, Ali Hajimiri, focuses on the idea of using synchronized electronic chips to create directional energy waves. By controlling the timing of these waves, it becomes possible to send energy wirelessly to specific locations without any mechanical movement. Practical applications such as powering light bulbs, drones, and even entire cities are discussed. Furthermore, the podcast delves into the idea of placing solar panels in space to collect energy and send it wirelessly to Earth, which offers advantages like constant access to energy and the ability to provide power to areas with limited infrastructure. Despite previous challenges, flexible fabric-like structures integrated with electronic circuitry highlight a new approach in developing wireless power technology, making it more feasible and promising for the future.
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Discover
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