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Intel makes progress in wirelessly recharging gadgets and computers

Thursday, August 21, 2008 - 05:19 PM EDT

"Intel has made progress in a technology that could lead to the wireless recharging of gadgets and the end of the power-cord spaghetti behind electronic devices," John Markoff reports for The New York Times.

"It says it has increased the efficiency of a technique for wirelessly powering consumer gadgets and computers, a development that could allow a person to simply place a device on a desktop countertop to power it. It could bring the consumer electronics industry a step closer to a world without wires," Markoff reports.

"On Thursday, the chip maker plans to demonstrate the use of a magnetic field to broadcast up to 60 watts of power two to three feet. It says it can do that losing only 25 percent of the power in transmission," Markoff reports.

"The Intel team describes its system as a “wireless resonant energy link,” and is experimenting with antennas less than two feet in diameter to remotely light a 60-watt light bulb," Markoff reports.

"The Intel researchers said they were thinking about designing a system that would make it possible to recharge a laptop computer without wires," Markoff reports.

More in the full article here.