Wireless Charging 

Wireless Charging 

Part of: Prelims and GS-III Science & Technology 

Context: The convenience of wireless charging is rapidly making this tech a popular trend.

Working

• Modern smartphones use electromagnetic induction to transfer electric energy from the charger to the smartphone while wirelessly charging it.
• You need your smartphone to support wireless charging and a compatible wireless charger to use this tech. Both the phone and the charger need copper coils as well.
• A fast changing magnetic field interacts with the copper coil present inside the smartphone when you put a compatible smartphone on a wireless charger
• The magnetic field then produces electric energy in an enclosed loop that interacts with that magnetic field using electromagnetic induction. The battery gets charged by the electric current that is produced.
• This form of wireless charging is called tightly-coupled electromagnetic inductive charging.
• Two copper coils need to be placed in close proximity for this technology to function. The copper coils need to align for this type of wireless charging to work.
• There are other forms of wireless charging technologies that aim to solve this proximity issue.
• Radio Frequency (RF)-based charging can charge gadgets wirelessly at a few feet distance, whereas loosely-coupled resonance charging can deliver a charge up to a few centimetres away.
• Users will be able to charge their phones without going near a charger in the near future using RF charging.

News Source: TOI