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"wireless charging" as a technology has been pretty baffling to me -- to make it even remotely efficient almost every practical consumer implementation uses som
by gorkish 2y ago
"wireless charging" as a technology has been pretty baffling to me -- to make it even remotely efficient almost every practical consumer implementation uses some form of mechanical alignment and contact system. As long as you are resigned to do that, why not just use normal mechanical contacts instead?
- toomuchtodo 2y agoYou might be willing to sacrifice efficiency for the common interface and component degradation over time from repeated physical connection mechanics. For phones, and other small devices, it's a reasonable solution due to the current and energy transferred involved. For vehicles though, it does not make sense (imho) considering the currents involved, especially as we're approaching 4C-6C with new battery chemistries and management systems.
- pixl97 2y agoAnd the number of phone cables I've replaced, especially beside my bed is already out of control. Switching to cables that plug in at 90 degrees has helped a lot, but it's something that can still wear out quickly.
- tw04 2y agoBecause, at least when there are magnets involved for alignment, it's easier. I've never ripped a charger out of the wall by picking up my phone in the middle of the night and forgetting I had a short cable attached to my phone. Kind of like saying you don't understand why we ever had early keyfobs when you still had to carry a key to start the car. It's not about it being superior in every aspect, it's about ease of use.
- mrich 2y agoCan not recommend charging your phone all night wirelessly next to your head while you are sleeping.
- germinalphrase 2y agoWhat are your concerns?
- gorkish 2y agoWhere is this nonsense coming from and why is it running rampant in a HN thread?
- forgetfreeman 2y agoSeveral decades of published research that hint at correlations between EM exposure and health issues coupled with military grade cynicism about the likelihood that industry players had a hand in late breaking claims that said research was inconclusive.
- gorkish 2y agoTalking about phone charging in this context is like discussing airsoft pellets in a conversation about war munitions. It's patently absurd. Please do not perpetuate the idea that a low current air core transformer charging a phone is in any way invisibly harmful. It's not.
- forgetfreeman 2y agoIf this claim was trivially provable it would have been conclusively proven by now and yet there persists hints that chronic EM exposure, even at relatively low power, may cause problems. I vividly recall a cluster of research that blipped into the media landscape for a couple hours a few decades ago that suggested long-term exposure to cellphone broadcast antennas might be problematic and cell chargers necessarily push a hell of a lot more power. To be absolutely clear I'm not claiming to have any answers here, my areas of expertise don't cover this. I would expect any research that comprehensively dispels concerns about EM exposure to make a shitload of noise in the media landscape and to the best of my knowledge that hasn't happened.
- 2y ago
- diggan 2y ago> As long as you are resigned to do that, why not just use normal mechanical contacts instead? Maybe a bit far out there, but wouldn't you be able to make both parts (charger and chargee) water-proof easier if power can be transmitted wirelessly?