Conducting Electricity: No Wire Transfers?

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    Conducting Electricity
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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the possibility of transmitting electricity without physical wires, exploring various methods and implications of such transmission. Topics include theoretical concepts, practical applications, and speculative ideas related to energy transfer, including satellites and lightning.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that electricity can travel without wires through various means, such as television technology and charged ions in fluids.
  • Lightning is mentioned as a natural example of electricity traveling without wires, with some participants proposing that it could be simulated for electricity generation.
  • One participant discusses the concept of satellites collecting solar energy and converting it to microwaves for transmission to Earth, likening it to radio broadcasts.
  • Concerns are raised about the safety of microwave beams transmitted from space, particularly regarding potential harm to birds or planes.
  • There is speculation about the geopolitical implications of energy beams from satellites, including accidental impacts on neighboring countries.
  • Alternative methods of conducting electricity without wires are mentioned, such as spark gaps and Tesla coils, which utilize air as a conductor.
  • Static electricity and natural phenomena like lightning are noted as not being reliable sources for producing electrical current.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of views on the feasibility and implications of transmitting electricity without wires, with no clear consensus reached on the practicality or safety of these methods.

Contextual Notes

Participants discuss various assumptions related to energy transmission methods, including the efficiency and safety of microwave beams, as well as the potential environmental impacts of such technologies.

chound
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Is it possible to make electricity travel between 2 places with no wires?
 
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Of course

It's called a TV.

If your definition is the movement of charge , then TV's fire electrons at the screen , high energy accellerators fire electrons and or protons around all the time. Electricity in fluids ( without literal wires) is carried by charged ions .
Ray.
 
lightning. whoosh!

once you build up a great enough potential difference... most anything can conduct
 
can we send satellites to space that get electricity from sun and transmit it to earth?
 
chound said:
Is it possible to make electricity travel between 2 places with no wires?…
can we send satellites to space that get electricity from sun and transmit it to earth?
In wires, the EM fields that propagate at near light speed carry the energy; the electrons move (drift) slowly. A satellite collects the solar energy and converts it to microwaves (EM fields). The microwave radiation (think microwave oven) is transmitted to Earth (just like a radio broadcast), captured by a ground antenna and transformed to usable electricity.
 
chound said:
Is it possible to make electricity travel between 2 places with no wires?


A BOLT OF LIGHTENING...

regards
marlon
 
Talking about lightning, is it possible for human to simulate lightining in order to generate electricity?
 
A satellite collects the solar energy and converts it to microwaves (EM fields). The microwave radiation (think microwave oven) is transmitted to Earth (just like a radio broadcast), captured by a ground antenna and transformed to usable electricity.
Wont this reduce pollution. We could send energy satellites to space send electricity to Earth and use it. The pollution due to thremal power plants can be reduced.
 
One of the issues with transmitting a microwave beam back to Earth from space is that the energy density of the beams would be quite large this would make it deadly to any bird or plane that passed through it. You would have to have some way of preventing such events.

I have ofter pondered the possibility of huge moon based photoelectic farms beaming energy back to earth.
 
  • #10
Is it possible like for eg, that a country launches a satellite for electricity. Is it possible for the beam to accidentally unfortunately hit its neighbouring enemy country?
 
  • #11
chound said:
Is it possible like for eg, that a country launches a satellite for electricity. Is it possible for the beam to accidentally unfortunately hit its neighbouring enemy country?
Ha ha, of course! But what would it do? Other than kill stuff? Knock out electricity too?

Other-than-lighting-ways:

Spark gaps, http://www.voltnet.com/ladder/index.shtml , toroids, and tesla coisl (or http://www.voltnet.com/tesla/index.shtmland ) use air as a conductor to work.

Also, there is something that may be relevant to this, it is called splitting an electron, you can spatially separate an electron's charge and mass I believe.
 
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  • #12
Integral said:
I have ofter pondered the possibility of huge moon based photoelectic farms beaming energy back to earth.

Reminds me of SimCity, when the microwave beam misses its power station's receiver. Things go ka-boom. :)
 
  • #13
Static electricity (lightning, cosmic particles, etc.) is not a good way of producing electrical current.
 

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