RSC Energia tested a laser installation that transmits a beam of electricity for one and a half kilometers
A unique experiment on wireless transmission of energy at a distance of 1.5 kilometers in the atmosphere took place on Friday evening, at 19.00 in the closed territory of the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation in Korolev, Moscow Region.
Similar experiments were carried out earlier abroad. However, even the most advanced American installations could “throw” the current no more than 3-10 meters. The difficulty lay in the fact that the atmosphere strongly interfered with the passage of the energy beam. Russian scientists were able to overcome this problem by extending the distance between the laser installation and the target to be charged up to 1.5 km.
The laser emitter was installed on the 6th floor of one of the Energia buildings at a height of 20 meters from the ground, the target, which was used as an ordinary mobile phone, lay in a room in another building at a height of 30 meters from the ground. The power of the transmitted energy was 5 watts.
According to RSC Energia engineer Vitaly Kapranov, who gave an interview to the Russia-24 TV channel, this was the first experiment carried out in Russia under rather difficult conditions: a beam of energy passed just a few meters above the roofs of buildings, hitting the target phone … The mobile phone started charging almost from the first seconds, however, it did it a little slower than from a regular electrical outlet.
In the future, according to Kapranov, in this way it is possible to charge not only phones, but also electric cars. At the same time, the distance can be reduced to 50-100 meters and the power can be increased several times. The more important goal of scientists is remote recharging of drones. It is planned to achieve this in about a year.
As previously reported to MK, the head of the RSC Energia scientific group Ivan Matsak, the transmission of electricity using an infrared laser beam will make it possible to make almost non-stop flights of unmanned aerial vehicles with electric motors. Their batteries are now capable of operating in the sky for 15 to 40 minutes. But if in a timely manner "feed" the copter with an invisible energy beam from the Earth, its flight, for example, for the purpose of remote video surveillance at any point on the Earth that interests you, can last for days. The installation is already under construction, it is a small container the size of a travel bag (it contains the laser itself) with a special optical system installed on it to transmit a narrow laser beam into the sky. A special solar battery is installed on the aircraft to receive and convert laser radiation into electricity.
Another area where this technology can be used is remote power supply of small spacecraft with increased energy requirements, but unable to carry large solar panels. By the way, in space, the process of wireless charging "from satellite to satellite" will be much faster and more efficient, since there is no atmosphere there.
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Natalia Vedeneeva