To put that into context, common Internet of Things (IoT) devices consume around 5μW – but only when in their deepest sleep mode. In the laboratory, the researchers were able to beam 5G power over a relatively short distance of just over 2 metres, but they expect that a future version of their device will be able to transmit 6μW (6 millionths of a watt) at a distance of 180 metres. The experiments used new types of antenna to facilitate wireless charging. The increased network density is particularly important, because it opens up the possibility of using mmWave bands to transmit different radio waves which can carry both internet connection and electrical power. These happen to be the same raw ingredients needed to create a wireless power grid. Multiple antennas allow masts to form hundreds of pencil-like beams that target particular devices, providing efficient and reliable internet to your phone on the move. The last bit of magic is to add many more antennas - between 128 and 1,024 compared to a much smaller number (just two in some cases) for 4G. 5G masts are more densely clustered than their predecessors. This is why 5G masts are more densely clustered than 4G masts. Increase the frequency further (like mmWave, which operates at 30GHz or more) and you see even greater improvements in bandwidth – but you need to be closer to the base station to access it. If your router has a 5GHz option, you’ll have noticed that movies stream more smoothly – but you have to be closer to your router for it to work. For context, most WiFi routers operate in the 2GHz band. The last of these, mmWave, opens up much more bandwidth at the cost of shorter transmission distances. To support these upgrades, 5G uses some engineering magic, and this magic comes in three parts: very dense networks with many more masts, special antenna technology, and the inclusion of millimetre wave (mmWave) transmission alongside more traditional bands. This 5G technology aims to provide a 1,000-fold capacity increase over the last generation, 4G, to allow up to one million users to connect per square kilometre – making those moments searching for signal at music festivals or sports events a thing of the past. The same technology is now used in the 5G network: the latest generation of technology to beam internet connection to your phone, via radio waves transmitted from a local antenna. One of Tesla’s towers, photographed in 1904.ĭecades ago, it was discovered that a tightly focused radio beam can transmit power over relatively large distances without using a wire to carry the charge. But the transmission will still suffer from the key drawback of Tesla’s towers: high energy wastage, which may be difficult to justify given the urgency of the climate crisis. Now, a research paper has suggested that the architects of the 5G network may have unwittingly built what Tesla failed to construct at the turn of the twentieth century: a “wireless power grid” that could be adapted to charge or power small devices embedded in cars, homes, workplaces and factories.īecause 5G relies upon a dense network of masts and a powerful series of antenna, it’s possible that the same infrastructure, with some tweaks, could beam power to small devices. But the theory itself wasn’t disproved: it would have simply required an extraordinary amount of power, much of which would have been wasted. Things didn’t go to plan, and Tesla’s ambitions for a wireless global electricity supply were never realised. He theorised that electricity could be transmitted wirelessly through the air at long distances – either via a series of strategically positioned towers, or hopping across a system of suspended balloons. This content is shared here because the topic may interest Snopes readers it does not, however, represent the work of Snopes fact-checkers or editors.Īt the height of his career, the pioneering electrical engineer Nikola Tesla became obsessed with an idea. This article about Nikola Tesla and wireless electricity is republished here with permission from The Conversation. This article originally appeared on The Conversation.
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