Have you ever wondered how electric toothbrush, electric cars, Wii remotes, and smartphones charge? All these gadgets use inductive charging.
What is Inductive Charging?
Inductive charging or wireless charging uses an electromagnetic field between two coils of wire – one coil of the wire is located at the charging base and another in the gadget – to transfer energy.
Advantages
The pros of inductive charging include:
- Safety – there is less risk of electrocution because no metal part is exposed
- Corrosion-free – the metal parts are enclosed and sealed preventing contact with water and oxygen that causes corrosion
- Durability – devices using inductive charging last longer than those that need to be plugged in
Disadvantages
The cons of inductive charging include:
- Less efficient – there is a loss of energy during transmission from the charging base to the device
- Slow charging – because there is energy loss during transfer it takes more time to charge the battery within the device
- Expensive – there is increase in cost due to the complexity of manufacturing
- Inconvenient – the device cannot be used while charging
How it Works
The secret behind inductive charging lies in the design. It needs a charging base that is connected to a wall outlet and has a transmitter coil, and a receiving device with a receiver coil.
The charging base is connected to a wall outlet. Alternating current flows from the wall outlet to a transmitter coil located within the charging base. When current flows, an electromagnetic field is formed. Once a receiving device comes in proximity with the charging base, the electromagnetic field creates a current with the receiver coil within the receiving device. The transfer of energy is known as magnetic coupling. Current received by the device is then converted to direct current and charges the battery of the device.
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