Wireless power involves the transmission of power without using wires or cords. Use of Wireless power transfer technology can lessen or eradicate the need for batteries and wires. Although wireless power has several benefits to the community and the environment, it, also, has negative implications.
This paper will focus on some forms of wireless power transmission, as well as, negative and positive implications of wireless transmission for the environment.
Nikola Tesla introduced the idea of wireless power transmission, in early 20th century. Tesla came up with the notion of electrostatic induction, which entails making exceedingly high potential and alternating variations amid two bits of metal using a tool similar to a Tesla coil.
A field that is electric would be rotating back and forth liberating energy to be arrested by a receiver, among these metal bits. Tesla believed this could be valuable as it would be possible to move the lights anywhere without a cord.
Besides, Tesla hypothesized that by structuring two vast Tesla coils, it would be possible to create this outcome in the entire world. Since then, many notions about the same have emerged, with resonant inductive coupling being the most potential technology.
Resonant inductive coupling uses the basics of wave harmonics to form a strong connection of magnetic waves, which resonate at a similar frequency of harmonic magnetic waves, from 2 coils. Several studies reveal that this technology is extremely competent.
Wireless power transmission can be used in many areas, where the wired power may be unsuitable. However, wireless power technology has many demerits, despite its many applications. Similar to wired power, wireless power has a restricted range.
However, the range of wired power is clearly visible, since it becomes restricted by a chord, whereas the range of wireless power is not visible as it becomes revealed by a signal. The range of wireless power that gets created by resonant induction coupling can be established from the radius of the coil. High efficiency occurs near the coil’s radius.
Besides, considering its 80% effectiveness, wireless power is less efficient than the usual wired systems. This is because a wireless system some power gets utilized in forming the magnetic field that relays the power from one coil to the other while in a wired system much of the power that becomes directed into a circuit gets to its destination (Glindogdu & Afacan, 2011, July 26).
Nevertheless, this loss of energy becomes compensated for because it is easy to notice when a tool no longer requires power. Hence, power can be switched off to save energy, while in a conventional system power will persist to be consumed after a tool gets charged wholly (Branscombe, 2009).
A vast predicament with wireless power is that it might necessitate much exertion to establish. Wireless power infrastructure needs the source coils, for transmission, to be positioned near where the power needs to be relayed.
Since most presently, manufactured tools become designed to utilize wired power, a noteworthy cost would occur in swapping from wired to wireless power. Nevertheless, the coils would be rather inexpensive to create since they just require a few loops of wire and a capacitor.
Designing the coils would form the trickiest task, since they have to be adjusted to the right frequency relying on the distance of the wire, the amount of loops in the wire and the capacitor (Kurs, 2007, July 06). However, electrical engineers would not find such a task hard.
Negative Implications of Wireless Power Transmission
Similar to other new technologies, there exist costs allied with the gains that can result from utilizing wireless power. The chief concern for several persons, who get implicated in the formation of large scale execution, is that wireless power is somewhat new in regard to broad application and design.
The key adversaries of wireless power are those implicated with mining of fossil fuel, battery power manufacture, and existing companies of electricity. These groups have an interest in maintaining customary wire power and restrict the construction of wireless power.
The development of wireless power technology presents uncertainty, in regard to human health. The health effects of getting exposed to energy waves are currently in the period of research and require to be developed further ahead of mass fabrication of this source of energy. This is a key shortcoming that should get consideration when devising wireless power technology.
Are the lives that get lost at present, more costly than the lives that are likely to be lost in prospect? Such hard questions are some of the solemn quandaries that technological scientists and regime officials will encounter, in prospect.
From an environment perspective, we may argue that switching the world for wireless power, wholly, is likely to generate enormous quantities of waste in the shape of useless and obsolete electrical devices, as well as, utilize a vast amount of resources. This is because, at present, the infrastructure that is in use became planned for electrical outlets and wires.
Such waste will certainly terminate in landfills. The waste further stays for about thousand of years before it degrades and leeches poisonous compounds into the soil. Some compounds that get used in electronics and poses environmental issues with electronic waste include chromium, Phosphor, barium lead and mercury.
Such compounds can be regarded as constant organic accumulators, since they remain in the environment and accrue inorganic tissues that lead to serious issues like reproductive disorders, nerve damage and cancer.
Proponents against wireless power claim that enhancements should be conducted, on wireless power technology, to decrease waste that occurs during installation and maximize health benefits (Zhang et al., 2011, May 15).
Positive Implications of Wireless Power Transmission
Utilizing wireless power for daily uses has vast latent environmental benefits. Energy costs will also reduce, saving homeowners untold amounts of income. Wireless power will substitute the utilization of batteries, which make landfills toxic, through their disposal. Discarding, into landfills, leads to environment poisoning and dilapidation.
Massive volumes of formation are not the lone limitations of batteries. Batteries become flawed, incompetent and can be hazardous, when oxidized. Batteries erode gradually and leech poisonous acid and lead into soil, once batteries go through landfills. Hence, they have the latent to put toxic to water sources, in adjoining communities.
Availing g wireless power, in the residents of most persons, will restrain the manufacture, utilization, and accretion of batteries and radically lessen the leeching of acid and lead into the soil, in prospect. Besides, energy outlays will lessen, saving homeowners myriad quantities of income, through utilizing wireless power as a substitute to batteries and wires.
Wireless power benefits related to effectiveness. Wireless power is apt to be more proficient than normal charging, with quick mechanisms that identify machines and screen levels of power, substituting compound adapters, and switching off the power when a machine becomes charged fully (Branscombe, 2009).
Energy should be utilized with as much control as feasible, since it is a costly resource. Possessing an energy source that just utilizes the required power can make the most use of created energy. This decreases the reliance on fossil fuels, which is a prevalent concern, in this generation, ultimately.
Eradicating tremendous energy utilization and lessening the use of energy, enables wireless power to turn into an environmentally logic technology that has the latent to be executed on some broad extent. For instance, a possible use of near region wireless power, on some broad extent, is the application for charging hybrid and electric vehicles.
Rather than having a wired connection, for buses and cars, wireless expertise can be incorporated into bus terminus and parking places, letting charging to take place without connections and instantaneously. This may allow a flawless incorporation of electric and hybrid vehicles into viable use on a broad scale.
For city bus structures, chiefly, wireless charging positions could be availed at each bus stop, eliminating the call for gasoline and diesel utilization, totally.
This would have several benefits including decreasing servicing logistics, saving time and lessening the carbon footprints of every bus, because power could be produced electrically, unlike with the use of fossil fuels. Thus, wireless power’s environmental implications are broad and extensive, although the moral benefits, also, expand to health benefits.
The health deliberations of wireless power transmission contain the latent to change how medical implants, home care and hospitals function, totally. Hence, invention of wireless power transmission is a significant asset, since the technology and design may be executed, in hospitals globally, to abolish the utilization of defective batteries and messy wires.
At present, home care and Medical implants depend on batteries and grid power, entirely, thus, limiting patients to wires and incessant substitution gadgets.
Availing wireless power at homes librates patients from their therapeutic circumstance, entirely, through letting power to be provided, remotely, from just walking close to the power supplier (Hickey, 2011, July 11). As stated earlier, not having to restore devices because of battery run-down demonstrates the diminution of risks like diseases, infections and invasive surgeries.
Moreover, Wireless power has the latent to sustain hundreds of persons, each year, through lessening the amount of deaths allied with wiring and issues, at the home environs including electrical shocks and burns (Barrett, 2004).
Wireless power has potential to reduce the amount of deaths, at home settings, since it eradicates wires and electrical outlets. Thus, wireless power has the latent to benefit millions of persons regarding health benefits.
From a moral stance, we should seek to know whether it would be ethically justified to adopt a technology that can save hundreds of lives, despite the demerits associated with wireless power technology.
In conclusion, it is apparent that although wireless power transmission has negative implications on human health and environment, power transmission through resonant inductive coupling can be beneficial to the public if it became used in electrics at home.
Wireless power technology can substitute disposable wires and batteries, thus, lessening hazardous chemicals and the possibility for poisoning societies, from an environmental perspective. Besides, resonant inductive coupling posses’ health advantages and with no use of cords life would grow to be easy, as a person would not need to keep on carrying the cords.
Besides, wireless power may help lessen the damage that the current, power infrastructure introduces to the environment. In addition, risks associated with customary wires become immaterial.
An additional benefit is the implausible convenience created by having all an individual’s electronics charged and powered with no wires. This implies that an individual’s movement will not be restricted, when charging devices.
However, some people doubt the applicability of wireless power. Several industries produce the electronic parts that should be substituted with inductive resonance expertise. Besides, a number of researchers think that it is unsafe for human beings to contact magnetic fields, which become used in the resonant inductive coupling.
A different large shortcoming is the intricacy and vast cost of introducing and executing the wireless power structure, since most presently, generated consumer electronics lack the essential parts.
The moral implications of wireless power include negative consequences on humanity. Moral tensions arise when considering environmental patronage and human health into the execution of tentative and new wireless power technology.
Opponents and advocates exist on both dimensions of this subject, and all introduce a mass of concerns and dilemmas to consider. Wireless power has the latent to affect each person who utilizes any electric power. Hence, transmission of wireless power is an invasive and contemporary subject of interest for the entire public.
The demerits of wireless power become overshadowed by the merits. Hence, from a moral stance, it is crucial to expand the technology of wireless power to the position of large-scale production, for the advancement of the community.
References
Barrett, M. (2004). Analysis of electrical accidents in UK domestic properties. Web.
Branscombe, M. (2009). Wireless power’s 2009 debut. Web.
Glindogdu, A. E. & Afacan, E. (2011). Some experiments related to wireless power transmission. IEEE Xplore, 1, 507-509.
Hickey , H. (2011). Wireless power could cut cord for patients with implanted heart pumps. Web.
Kurs, A. (2007). Wireless power transfer via strongly coupled magnetic resonances. Web.
Zhang, F., Hackworth, S. A., Fu, W., Li, C., Mao, Z., & Sun, M. (2011). Relay effect of wireless power transfer using strongly coupled magnetic resonances. IEEE Xplore, 47(5), 1478-1481.