How Wireless Energy From Space Could Power Everything | Ali Hajimiri | TED

Modern life runs on wireless technology. What if the energy powering our devices could also be transmitted without wires? Electrical engineer Ali Hajimiri explains the principles behind wireless energy transfer and shares his far-out vision for launching flexible solar panels into space in order to collect sunlight, convert it to electrical power and then beam it down to Earth. Learn how this technology could power everything -- and light up our world from space.

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[jam-fam]

This will help us become a type 1 Kardashev scale civilization!

I hope that all people on earth will get access to it, a whole new open-source community has to be built around this and all nations should be involved. Well done to this team and everyone else involved in taking such a great spot in human history. Wow!

[MrFaradayMaxwell]

wow, I am also an electrical engineer and I think this guy delivered a great explanation about waves and how we can manipulate it. It is a relatively complex idea but the way he presented it is very easy to understand.

[andycordy]

I can't wait to hear more on this project. Thank you.

[wattshumphrey]

Last time I looked at available tech here (some years back...), getting the material to space and assembling it, collecting energy, and beaming it to earth were not the biggest challenges; it was that the energy densities of the beam had to be kept very low so it doesn't fry things on earth (that was with microwaves...).

At that look, with beam energy densities held below "allowable" limits for human and other exposure, you would need huge antennas on earth to generate significant power. Don't recall sizes, think was many square miles at minimum -- but conclusion then: just put your solar panels in the same space on the ground in sunny places and pump into the grid.

Will need to look further at this to see what their idea is.

Beyond that, what looks new and different here is the phased arrays of PV chips and the ability to actively direct beam direction and focal distance. That is cool

[MrPinguinzz]

i'm annoyed that he did not state how much energy is lost in transmission
i'm assuming it is AN ABSURD AMOUNT of power wasted to transmit it to ground
Starlink uses 50W+ just to transmit data to space, i'm curious how inefficient phased array antenna power transmission is

[kevaljoshi]

What about the impact of this high energy EM waves on human tissues. How safe is this ?? Any research in this direction would be mandatory

[abhishekkumar]

Finally the dream of Great Scientist Nikola Tesla coming to reality after a delay of few decades which was caused because of some greedy persons of His time....I wish he could see his invention turning reality 😢

[charlesbrightman]

'BATTERYLESS BATTERIES': (copy and paste from my files):
To help power equipment in outer space:

Potential endless energy source basically anywhere in this universe:

a. Small aluminum cones with an electrical wire running through the center of the cones, cones spaced apart (not touching I'm thinking) but end to end.
b. Electromagentic radiation energy in the atmosphere interacts with the aluminum cones.
c. Jostled atoms and molecules in the cone eventually have some electrons try to get away from other electrons of which those electrons gather at the larger end of the cone, of which also creates an area of positive charge at the smaller end of the cone.
d. The electron's in the wire are attracted to the positive end of the cone and the positive 'end' in the wire are attracted to the negatively charged end of the cone.
e. Basically a 'battery' has been created inside the electrical wire itself, different areas of electrical potential. Basically a 'wire battery' or a 'batteryless battery', however one wanted to call it.
f. Numerous cones placed end to end increases the number of 'batteries' in the wire.
(In series to increase voltage, in parallel to increase amperage).

* Via QED (Quantum Electro Dynamics) whereby electromagnetism interacts with electrons in atoms and molecules, one would have to find the correct 'em' frequency for the correct material being utilized for the cones. The shape of the cones could also come into play. The type and size of the wire as well as the type and thickness of the insulation between the cones and the wire would also be factors.
* Of course also, possibly 2D triangles made up of certain materials with a conductor going down through the center of the triangle could possible achieve the same 'batteryless' battery system.
* Plus possibly with the 2D concept, layered 2D's that absorb different energy frequencies, thereby increasing the net output.

[marco]

I can see this going in so many different ways.
Hes essentially creating the possibility of a Dyson sphere and some how highlighting the geopolitics of it simultaneously.
I cant wait to see what happens.

[Tintak_hatpin]

Keeping the cost and hassle and distance aside, I don't understand how the major problems which you mentioned related to putting panels in Deserts are solved by putting panels in space ?
You said space receives 8 times more energy received than the surface of the earth because of atmospheric absorption, night, season etc, but all these factors will come into play in case of panels in space too. The energy which you are sending from satellite will also suffer atmospheric absorption, (I can think of ionosphere very quickly which can disrupt electric energy), how about cloud covers etc. And satellite above a lot of countries doesn't always get sunlight, it depends on too many factors, the earths shadow can and will be the there on satellite for long periods. Also what kind of disruption will it cause to flights, birds and other safety etc when you send high powered electric beams from space ? Isn't it more practical to extract the energy when you are receiving it for free here in the surface from the Sun.

[editingwithbrokay]

This is great. I first heard of the concept after watching City of the future: Singapore and seeing that they have launched a station in space blew my mind. this technology will help a lot of isolated islands . Not to mention us filmmakers, there will be no need to carry heavy power generators to charge the film gear in the middle of the desert

[woljay]

Congrats Dr. Hajimiri and team ! Amazing achievement for humanity, and also a continuation of Ancient Iranians’ Earth-friendly innovations. Afarin!! ❤

[iwaniwak]

what the password of your wireless energy? hahaha

[vanadot]

Military : So you're saying that we could send a person "some" energy from a distance?

[publicspace]

5:24 did anyone see that jump cut in the demo video?

[wisdomhappy]

So Fascinating! Beamforming is a inspiring technology

[MiguelMontemayor-rk]

Im just mind blown by all the emergence of new technology that is happening everyday.

[MrZinoh]

In 2006, Huntington Beach CA, and during an R&D meeting at my company, I proposed the concept of developing a wireless charging solution for our cutting-edge laptop brand, "Zinoh." Despite facing skepticism from engineers who initially considered it implausible to transmit electricity through the atmosphere, I held firm to the vision. Today, I'm grateful for the innovative minds that embraced the challenge and turned this once-dismissed idea into a reality. Unfortunately, our brand didn't thrive, but the experience underscores the importance of embracing bold ideas that push the boundaries of what is deemed possible.

[kwarme]

The indoor application looks very promising. But for the satellite projection; wouldn't we still need to install a solar panel like infrastructure on the ground to receive the energy? What will be the benefit of this approach? Will it eliminate the need to store energy on the ground? Because that alone would be a big step forward.

[punkdigerati]

RF is just a subset of the electromagnetic spectrum, the carrier wave/particle of which is the photon. This is just more complicated solar. It needs a serious cost/benefit analysis versus other forms of solar energy.
I suspect that the cost of development of the technology, testing, and deployment to space would be a greater cost than deploying ground based solar for the same energy collected.