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Friday, 13th March 2015
In General Japan News,
Japanese scientists succeed in transmitting wireless energy
Scientists in Japan have managed to transmit energy wirelessly in a huge industry breakthrough, according to a spokesman for The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
With the hope to one day make solar power generation possible in space, researchers were able to deliver 1.8 kilowatts of power through the air by microwaves - this is enough power to run an electric kettle from a receiver 55 meters away. Researchers have already pointed out that this distance may not be great, but it is a step closer to it being possible to tap into the solar energy available in space so that it can be used on Earth.
The spokesperson for JAXA said: “This was the first time anyone has managed to send a high output of nearly two kilowatts of electric power via microwaves to a small target, using a delicate directivity control device.
“But it could take decades before we see practical application of the technology—maybe in the 2040s or later. There are a number of challenges to overcome, such as how to send huge structures into space, how to construct them and how to maintain them.”
JAXA has been working on this form of energy system for years, due to the wealth of advantages it has over solar energy on earth, especially in regards to the availability of energy regardless of what time of day or weather it is. This inexhaustible source of energy in space may one day be farmed, with microwave-transmitting satellites being set up around 36,000 kilometers from earth.
The International Space Station has been able to use this solar energy for years, while the idea first emerged among researchers in the US in the 1960s. Japan's SPSS programme started looking into it in 2009.