n 1831, the English physicist Michael Faraday discovered that the electro-magnetic field generated by an electrical current flowing through one wire could induce a current to flow in another wire. Sixty years later, the Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla dreamt of wirelessly powering the world with his Tesla Coil, which successfully managed, albeit quite dangerously, to transfer electricity via an electrical field. Sparks literally flew everywhere. Still, wireless electricity seems the one thing painfully lacking in our progressively mobile world.

The most interesting recent prospect comes from the Croatian engineer Dr Marin Soljacic of the company WiTricity. In 2007, Soljacic suspended two unconnected copper coils in the air. One was attached to an AC power source (the generator) and the other to a 60W light bulb (the receiver). With both finely tuned to resonate electro-magnetically with each other – think of how plucking an A string on a piano causes other A strings nearby to vibrate – it worked, at distances of up to two meters. While efficiency has increased significantly (by 90% according to WiTricity), the technique remains strictly in the development phase.

Other applications of wireless power are either limited to a distance of several centimetres or require continuous contact, such as the Powermat wireless charging system. Similar to the way most electric toothbrushes charge, simply by contact, devices such as telephones need to be placed directly on the Powermat in order to recharge. Ultimately it’s not what we would really hope to find in terms of truly wireless power: a living room without cables, the ability to place lamps, flat screens and toasters wherever we want.

But as we consider adding another energy source to the air around us, there is the major issue of safety. ‘Wireless power’ makes one think of giant clouds of electricity – a physiological no-go. Luckily, WiTricity makes use of magnetic fields, which, according to the World Health Organisation and other government bodies, have little or no effect on the human body.

All things considered, will we ever be able to cut the cord? The liberation would be glorious. Cardiac arrhythmia patients would no longer have to undergo surgery to replace the batteries in their pacemakers. Certain long-haul enthusiasts, spending their time jet-setting from London to the Middle East by way of Tokyo, would be tickled pink at the prospect that they could conduct their electronic lives seamlessly across continents. Others, like Dr Soljacic himself, would simply be thrilled to find their mobile phone in the morning, fully charged, on the kitchen counter where they left it. Despite all these advancements, electrical devices will continue to require a reliable source of energy. And as anyone who possesses a wireless network can attest, nothing is more aggravating than having to hard-reset the router. Imagine having to reset the wireless electricity generator for one’s home.

Text Matthew Lowe, COS Magazine, October edition