5G is unintentionally giving us an opportunity to mine electricity. The frequencies the network uses are full of energy just begging to be used. And scientists might have cracked how to do exactly that.
Credit: Christopher Moore, Georgia Tech.
- Be also sure to check out my other posts and follow me @kralizec and subscribe to my Youtube channel at Kralizec Gaming Youtube Channel
Our world is filled with electromagnetic signals that are waiting for us to use them for their energy. All we need is the ideal technology. A team from Georgia Tech now has such a technology. And it’s simple and practical. It’s a 3D printed rectifying antenna (rectenna). This is an antenna that is capable of converting electromagnetic radiation into DC electricity. And this particular one is just the size of a regular playing card. It mines energy from 5G networks and uses it to run electronic devices.
Wireless networks have been in the spotlight for those searching to use the energy of electromagnetic waves to get usable energy for some time. Some projects looked into Wi-Fi networks, others into TV or radio networks. There even was a technology that tried to prolong the battery life of phones by using the radio waves generated by the phone itself.
Now, 5G networks are changing everything. As they were designed for fast communication their waves carry a lot of energy. This, probably unintentionally, created an incredible opportunity for electromagnetic wave energy miners. Now, they can develop devices that mine the energy of electromagnetic waves that will be much more efficient than any previous technologies.
A team from Georgia Tech solved this using a technology called Rotman Lens. This commonly used component of current radars and systems for electronic combat. To simplify, these lenses allow the radars or rectennas to cover a much larger area without the need to move or rotate. The result of their attempts is a 3D-printed and flexible system capable of mining the energy of 5G networks coming from any direction while mining out 21-times more energy than our so far best similar systems.
But, if you are thinking that we will be able to run our cars on 5G network-based energy you will be disappointed. The new rectenna is capable of mining roughly 6 microwatts from a 5G transmitter that’s 180 meters far away. But that’s still better than nothing. Nonetheless, this energy should be enough for small sensors and IoT devices as well as some types of wearable devices.
Sources:
- If you like the content I’m producing about science maybe you will like the content I produce about gaming as well! Be sure to check out my other posts!