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Magnetic Fire, Wireless Charging, MagMIMO & Beyond

Published on 27 September 14
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What is magnetic fire?

One of the best ways of storing energy is within magnetic fields. And as per researchers, if they could create a spark, they could produce the transmission of magnetic energy - called magnetic fire. Further challenge for researchers is, if somehow magnetic fire could start without a spark and spontaneously.

As per research, a spark could be created using crystalline molecules that, when heated, would spin and produce a magnetic field. Due to heat, the spin direction of the molecules would flip, and will cause energy to be transferred to material near to it.

When the molecules’ spins are aligned opposite the applied field direction, they acquire a high level of energy. And then when the spins ‘flip,’ energy is released and dispersed into nearby magnetic material that can cause a uncontrolled reaction. The transformation of the energy transfer in these systems could be controlled through the applied magnetic field.

What is wireless charging?

Inductive charging or wireless charging uses an electromagnetic (EM) field to transfer energy from a charging station to an electrical device. Energy is transferred through an inductive coupling to an electrical device, which can then utilise that energy for charging the batteries or even to run the electrical device.

Wireless chargers mostly use an induction coil to create an alternating EM field from within a charging station, and a second induction coil in the electrical device takes the power from the EM field and converts it back into electrical current for charging the batteries.


What is Magnetic MIMO (MagMIMO)?

Wireless charging is not uncommon lately. It works, but you still have to get your device quite close to the charger for it. A team of scientists of the MIT, USA has announced a new wireless charging technology called MagMIMO. If this works perfectly, you might not even have to take the phone out of your pocket to charge it - MagMIMO will simply detect the phone and target energy toward it to connect.

The initial prototype of MagMIMO currently working in the laboratory can identify a device from up to 30 cm away and fires a targeted magnetic field to charge it, when you come back to your base location.

The charging may take much longer than it takes to charge it in a usual way. Moreover, it is of no importance whether the device is in the pocket or even it is moving within the 30 cm periphery.

MagMIMO offers great freedom and this technique is borrowed from high-end cutting edge Wi-Fi routers - they can detect a gadget connecting to them and boost the signal in its direction. And instead of radio waves, it uses magnetic fields, whose benefit is that they do not have an adverse effect on human tissue.

When a device disrupts the field generated by an array of wire coils, the charger recognises it. The focus on the device is achieved by creating a slightly different field with each coil, and as magnetic fields tend to reinforce each other, the cummulative field that reaches the phone is maximized.

As the field is focused on the target device, coils in the emitter adjust their frequencies to reinforce the overall strength of the signal. Like other charging methods, a device equipped with MagMIMO has receiving coils that convert the magnetic field back into electricity through inductive current to feed into the battery.

If and when MagMIMO is able to cover beyond 30 cm range - which is a proof of concept, e.g. to cover an entire room, then that shall simply open up many opportunities for this technology. You could simply bring the device still in your pocket and have it charging. If researchers can get MagMIMO to that advancement, it will be like having true wireless charging.

It’s only the beginning of a reality. Wireless power transfer can be used in many applications including medical implants. It could also be a huge boost for many industries including of smaller gadgets and wearable devices.

This blog is listed under Development & Implementations and Networks & IT Infrastructure Community

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