Wireless Power

Step 1What is it? How does it work?

What is it? How does it work?
A few years ago MIT created a system for transferring power wirelessly. They transmitted power over a two-meter distance, from the coil on the left to the coil on the right, where it powers a 60W light bulb. Back in 2006, this was a pretty cool thing. You can only imagine what the implications of something like this would be. Well, unlike most of us, we do not have the time or material goods like MIT has. So i have made this simple and easy to follow Instructable, so all of you good people can experience the joy of wireless power.

Inductive Coupling uses magnetic fields to transfer power. There is a primary coil, which generates a magnetic field. Then there is another secondary coil which is composed of a capacitor and a coil, the capacitor creates a resonant circuit with the primary and secondary coils. Seem easy? Well, before publishing this instructable I found many useful and a lot of non-useful info on the subject.

In my research I found, that to transfer power in very complicated. Once i did it I found that you do not need to go to MIT do do this sort of stuff. With a little electrical know how, this is easy.

It all starts with the transmitter. This transmitter needs to create 147.7 kHz square wave AC signal. Let me take a minute to explain this all. Level one on the frequency scale is Hertzs, then there is kHz, then MHz. MIT used a 10 mHz wave to drive there coils, but for this we will be using a 147.7 kHz signal so it does not get too complicated.

The secondary coil has a 0.02 uF capacitor. This will allow the two circuits to be coupled therefore, transferring power efficiently. The 0.02 uF capacitor is used only for this frequency, and the value of this capcitor will change depending on the frequency.

The primary coil creates a magnetic field, when another coil is placed near it, energy will be induced into it.

Be in mind that i could not get a hold of a 0.02uF capacitor so i used two 0.01uF capacitors connected together.

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20 comments
May 23, 2009. 4:40 PMkledi says:
Tesla did this 100 years ago... mit didnt invent anything, they just copied some 100 year old circuit.
May 30, 2009. 3:00 PMfireball9199 says:
no he sent his 26 miles and lit 100 lightbulbs
Feb 25, 2010. 9:35 AMT27o says:
omg really?
Mar 16, 2010. 9:19 PMcreatorscott says:
 Tesla used currents sent through the ground to light the 100 lightbulbs, using something called "Terrestrial Stationary Waves." He also invented this, but it isn't the same instance.
Nov 20, 2010. 6:30 PMdrbill says:
No. This is not the same instance. You are right.
However this is still a transformer.
It uses inductance.
Tesla was a pioneer in this field. (no pun intended)
Dec 30, 2009. 11:52 PMvbman11 says:
 could you supply the formulas for the capacitance<-kHz? A bunch of people have asked fo the formulas.
Nov 9, 2009. 1:49 PMMagnet_Dude says:
are the capacitors necessary for this to work??
Aug 28, 2009. 10:57 AMaravindzzz says:
how did connecting a capacitor makes the coil coupled???
May 12, 2009. 7:20 PMXTTX says:
connecting two 0.01uF capacitors in series will give you .005uF not .02uF. You need to connect them in parallel.
Jul 14, 2009. 10:03 PMUnit042 says:
Parallel does double capacitance, but series does not half total capacitance. The series capacitance becomes the equivalent of the smallest capacitor in the chain. (Or, at least, vwery close. See wikipedia for the math equation)
May 21, 2009. 12:05 AMDavyBaby says:
10 out of ten my good man. XTTX is on the money. Caps do not behave like resistors when connected in series or parallel but the inverse. Just switch around the formula. Great Instructable!!!!!
May 13, 2009. 10:23 AMpedroion says:
Man, this was today's topic at school!
I'm so happy right now.

BTW: it's true.
May 21, 2009. 12:47 AMdrbill says:
Did your teacher demonstrate. If so, How? I would have liked to have seen that.
May 13, 2009. 12:54 PMXTTX says:
Stay in school kids :D. I also learned it from my physics class a few months back.
May 15, 2009. 5:31 PMknoxarama says:
yes, and i've learned more about technology, biology, all that stuff outside of school. really, there isn't anything that you learn in school that a good apprenticeship wouldn't do better, just because it would be more focused into one job, specifialy (unless that job was to do many jobs) and everyone would be more efficient. then, advancement would speed up greatly and overall everything would work our better. School is therfore not the best option. even without apprenticeship, many schools are incompetent.
Sep 7, 2009. 2:34 PMjakesllama says:
I would have to agree with you, Im home educated and i wouldnt have known anything about electronics or other things if i stayed in.
May 19, 2009. 9:59 AMpedroion says:
Of course you learn more from a apprenticeship, but it's much harder to have one.
I was surprised to see something REAL from school. It's hard to use anything you learned there in real life, you know?
May 19, 2009. 4:45 PMknoxarama says:
very true
May 16, 2009. 10:22 PMpeanutthegreat says:
lets not get off topic now...
May 16, 2009. 9:46 PMtanmanknex says:
I agree!!! We should get someone to set up a self guided learning school and compare the test scores of the same grades. Like, we could teach them to read and write and then let them go free. That'd be the best...
May 21, 2009. 12:55 AMdrbill says:
This web site kinda sorta resembles a self guided school. Don't it. Mo Bettah to leave the Test Scores and competition at the schools and keep this fun and at the same time learn all kinds of stuff they will never teach you at school. I dare say that every person here knows more than the ones that are not. I have seen some pretty cool stuff here that I never saw in school. When I was 15 I built a Heilium Neon Laser and brought it to school and was lambasted for bringing such a dangerous thing to school. My school had a very closed mind. This place does not.
May 21, 2009. 5:33 AMknoxarama says:
i hate the weapon policie. A pencil is more of a weapon than pliers.... but which do they allow? if only i was around when you could still bring guns before all those 'gangsters' or whatever started shooting everyone. I hope they realize that them agaainst the police, they would lose. Really, them against anyone with any gun, they would lose. From what i've seen, they can only hit something if they blow off ten rounds. Kill them all.
May 21, 2009. 10:15 PMdrbill says:
Today my weapon of choice is radio.
May 22, 2009. 5:27 AMknoxarama says:
bash them in the head with it while listening to 'the drive'.
May 22, 2009. 1:54 PMdrbill says:
Mine is a transmitter. I will be supplying 2 way communications to the fighters when the Revolution Happens
May 21, 2009. 6:14 PMdrbill says:
My LASER was not a weapon in 1968. What I had to deal with was a school full of closed minded teachers that knew I was not rich enough. I grew up in a wealthy town full of stuck-up snots.
May 22, 2009. 5:30 AMknoxarama says:
most of the people i go to school with are stuck up snobs. even the ones who aren't rich. the rich people are kind of weird, they contribute the leat to town things. that's probably how they got rich, along with not tipping the waiter. i'm still telling them pencils are more dangerous than a laser pointer.
May 22, 2009. 1:58 PMdrbill says:
My home town was Darien, Connecticut. The people there are so stuck-up they walk around town with their noses so high up in the air (cause its free) they got to be careful when it rains they might drown. If they did they would be doing the world a favor.
May 22, 2009. 7:38 PMknoxarama says:
maybe they'll develope neck problems from having their necks bent up like that.
Jul 14, 2009. 10:22 PMzimvaider says:
WOW. It started with the properties of capacitors, and now it's about neck problems. lol
Jul 15, 2009. 3:15 PMpedroion says:
It's the power of the internets, brother. NAO STRAT FLOODING!111
Dec 24, 2009. 9:32 AMk_man93 says:
 1 and 2... again
Jun 5, 2009. 9:39 AMONEofAkindMASTERMIND says:
when a genious speaks everyone listens but no one understands
May 20, 2009. 2:53 AMfortnix911 says:
THIS IS SO KOOOOL !! MAN I DID IT !!
May 20, 2009. 12:18 AMrailgunfuzz says:
What was the range like on the device and is there a calculation for working out the capacitor value relative to the frequency?
May 15, 2009. 12:58 AMavenant says:
Cool, Very cool. And to think that Nicola worked on wireless electricity way back in 1891 !!! And through fear of the unknown people didn't believe it, didn't want it and some just plain called him crazy. Or maybe it was just economics speaking louder than common sense?. Keep up this "free-thinking" - it is what makes real inventors stand out from the sheeple.
May 16, 2009. 9:15 PMfozzy13 says:
That's what I was thinking! This wasn't discovered a couple years ago, Tesla did this ages ago! I read his autobiography...
May 15, 2009. 12:59 AMavenant says:
Sorry, slip of the fingers - was referring to Nicola Tesla.
May 14, 2009. 8:11 AMendolith says:
Be in mind that i could not get a hold of a 0.02uF capacitor so i used two 0.01uF capacitors connected together.

Looks like you connected them in series, though, so your capacitance is 0.005uF now. You need to connect them in parallel.

Can you include your calculations for the resonance frequency of these capacitors with the coil?

Inductive Coupling uses magnetic fields to transfer power. There is a primary coil, which generates a magnetic field. Then there is another secondary coil which is composed of a capacitor and a coil, the capacitor creates a resonant circuit with the primary and secondary coils.

Normal inductive coupling doesn't use any capacitors or resonance. This is what sets the MIT circuit apart. Inductive coupling drops off very rapidly with distance, but their coupling should reach a lot further. "The usual non-resonant magnetic induction would be almost 1 million times less efficient in this particular system."
May 11, 2009. 10:18 AMeth3real says:
Those caps should be setup in parallel to get 0.02uF, not in series which doubles the forward voltage instead of the capacitance.

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"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it." -Pablo Picasso "Everyone can be smart. Everyone is given a box of crayons in Kindergarden." There are only two mis...
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