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Nokia Developed Wireless Power-Harvesting Phones

Posted by samzenpus on from the tesla-would-like-a-word-with-you dept.

Al writes "An engineer from Nokia's UK research labs says that the company is developing technology that can harvest ambient electromagnetic radiation to keep a cellphone going. The researcher says that his group is working towards a prototype that could harvest up to 50 milliwatts of power — enough to slowly recharge a phone that is switched off. He says current prototypes can harvest 3 to 5 milliwatts. It will require a wideband receiver capable of capturing signals from between 500 megahertz and 10 gigahertz — a range that encompasses many different radio communication signals. Other researchers have developed devices that can harvest more modest power from select frequencies. A team from Intel previously developed a compact sensor capable of drawing 6 microwatts from a 1.0-megawatt TV antenna 4.1 kilometers away."

6 of 246 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Crazy Idea - during his time... by victim · · Score: 4, Funny

    They are asking about radio, not noodles.

  2. Charge it in the microwave oven by radionerd · · Score: 4, Funny

    10 seconds on high should be plenty

  3. Re:Need More by jd2112 · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's called a lightning rod, although a clock tower and a sufficient length of cable will work in a pinch. Figuring out how to get lightning to strike a DeLorian while traveling at 88mph is left as an exercise for the reader.

    --
    Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
  4. Re:College experiments by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is useful knowledge to have. Imagine being lost and in need of rescue. If you could create a device that siphoned sufficient power from radio signals to reduce their range, not only would you have power for a beacon but also the FCC would take care of tracking down your location so that you'd stop doing it.

    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  5. Re:Crystal radio by fractoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our new Ad-Supported Wireless Power Ducks.

    --
    Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  6. Geranium powered radios by Kupfernigk · · Score: 4, Funny
    You have to extract the dye from the geranium flowers, then use it to build a continuous dye laser which you modulate with the incoming RF signal. The beam is aimed at a very fast response bolometer which provides rectification. Just amplify the signal from a small current through the bolometer to get audio output.

    This is an easy project for a 16 year old provided mummy or daddy is a full professor of physics at Stanford.

    --
    From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."