Disney Scientists Make Big Wireless Charging Breakthrough

When you think of Disney, do you think of research? Probably not. But really, they've been innovating for a long time. Their films and their theme parks have both pushed some technological boundaries over the years. And while those breakthroughs have largely been used to entertain us, their latest big discovery sounds pretty practical, too. 

Wireless charging has been a dream since Tesla's days, and we've seen a few hints and steps toward making it a reality.

You can charge your phone wirelessly, for example, but it has to be on a special pad to make it happen. Disney, however, has built an entire room that will do the trick. You can just sit there in an easy chair, put your phone down on the armrest or watch videos on it, and it will charge up.

In the room, the walls, ceiling, and floors are all made of aluminum panels. There's a copper pipe standing in the middle of the room, and it's the key component.

The researchers cut a gap into the pipe and put some capacitors in there. The capacitors set the electromagnetic frequency of the room. Current travels up and down the pole at a rate of 1.3 million times per second, generating a field that circulates around the room. With the right receiver, any device can pick up power from that field.

As the researchers note, there's no reason why this idea can't be scaled down to a smaller size or up to a warehouse size.

Of course, that warehouse would have to have aluminum walls, floors, and ceilings, remember. If you're wary of sitting around in a magnetic field, the researchers say that the room can transmit 1.9 kilowatts of power while meeting federal guidelines for exposure, so it's safe. Learn more in the video below!

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