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| The Tesla Roadster - An Electric Sportscar |
In electric cars, we generally have to charge it manually by connecting through wire to a charger at parking places. However, some companies of UK and USA are working on a process of charging electric cars without any physical connection to the source(of electricity).
The basis of this type of charging is electromagnetic induction. This process is almost automatic where the driver even need not to get out of the vehicle. HaloIPT , a UK company, has installed this technology in its cars to implement wireless charging. There are two methods of charging by induction. One is power supply with track, in which, the power supply takes electrical power from the mains supply to energize a lumped inductive coil which transfers the energy. The second one is through pick-up pads with controllers which uses the highly coupled magnetic resonance technology patented by WiTricity . Anthony Thomson, the CEO of HaloIPT says in this regard-"The charging is done wirelessly, you park up, turn off the key and voila... charging starts automatically." .
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| Mechanism of Wireless Charging by Induction |
This technology is can be preferred to cable charging because of its certain advantages and comforts.Neil Butcher , the Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators (CABLED) project leader says "The lack of any visible connection minimises any risk of vandalism - unplugging or theft of cables.There are also obvious health and safety issues associated with many live electric cables hanging between the post and the car, especially in bad weather, including electric shock and trip hazards," Besides, the strength of the magnetic field is within the limits recommended by the International Commission on non-ionizing radiation protection (ICNIRP). Professor Paul Mitcheson from Imperial College, London.
A US start-up business WiTricity has patented a new way other than electric induction to wirelessly transfer energy in much larger amounts and over greater distances than induction. This efficient energy transfer would be done by the technique called highly coupled magnetic resonance.which can transfer 60 watts with ~40% efficiency over distances in excess of 2 meters. This involves pairing the magnetic fields of two pads with closely matching resonant frequencies. Eric Giler, CEO of WiTricity, explained the process of charging by this process as-"When you plug one pad into the wall, that electricity is converted into a magnetic field, which oscillates at a frequency. It creates a second magnetic field that oscillates around the second coil that sits underneath the car, and it is then converted into electricity that goes to a charger inside the car and charges the battery."
With the depleting sources of fossil fuels, the next convenient alternative for powering vehicles seems to be electricity. Now, this is being realized by the vehicle companies of the world and they are establishing branches for manufacture of vehicles powered by electricity. In this regard, wireless charging of electric vehicles would certainly be in favor of car companies because it is free from health risks like electric shocks in bad weather and tripping over the cables.In this regard, Giler said, "Car manufacturers have already realized that if you don't have to plug a car in to charge it, it will significantly increase the adoption of the electric vehicles," So in future this technology may be used to charge our other electric appliances also.Intel has started experimenting with it in their labs. Also, as there is no harmful radiation in the process, it is eco-friendly and safe for mass use. HaloIPT plans to embed this technology in the streets and motorways to charge the vehicles on the drive. So, it seems that in future we will not need to check our fuel tanks while riding, making the ride more comfortable.
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