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Phase III – Stealth Is.

“In the quietude, you may find solace in knowing.” “In knowing, you will find the solace of quietude.”

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Tag: Electricity

A series of reliefs cover the walls in an obscure corner of a crypt in the Hathor Temple in Dendera. One in particular caught the eye of a visiting Norwegian electrical engineer. He stared at it not sure he believed his own eyes. What he was certain he’d found was an Egyptian depiction of an electric light bulb.His revelation was called to the attention of other electrical engineers. After studying the relief they agreed that it certainly seemed to depict an electric light. Comparing the design to types of bulbs they reached a consensus: ancient Egyptians had working bulbs called “Crookes tubes.”

“When the [Crookes] tube is in operation, the ray originates where the cathode electrical wire enters the tube to the opposite end. In the temple picture, the electron beam is represented as an outstretched serpent. The tail of the serpent begins where a cable from the energy box enters the tube, and the serpent’s head touches the opposite end. In Egyptian art, the serpent was the symbol of divine energy . . .” – Chris Dunn, “The Giza Power Plant.”

via SloppyUnruh


Dr. Reynolds designed this low-power hat, called the SmartHat, with Jochen Teizer, an assistant professor in the school of civil and environmental engineering at Georgia Tech. They are among several people devising devices and systems that consume so little power that it can be drawn from ambient radio waves, reducing or even eliminating the need for batteries. Their work has been funded in part by the National Science Foundation.

Powercast, based in Pittsburgh, sells radio wave transmitters and receivers that use those waves to power wireless sensors and other devices. The sensors, for example, monitor room temperature in automatic systems that control heating and air-conditioning in office buildings, said Harry Ostaffe, director of marketing and business development.

The company recently introduced a receiver for charging battery-free wireless sensors, the P2110 Powerharvester Receiver, and demonstrated it in modules that sense temperature, light level and humidity data, he said. The modules include microcontrollers from Microchip Technology, in Chandler, Ariz.

Until recently, the use of radio waves to power wireless electronic devices was largely untapped because the waves dilute quickly as they spread, said Joshua R. Smith, a principal engineer at Intel’s research center in Seattle and an affiliate professor at the University of Washington.

“That’s changing,” said Dr. Smith, who explores the use of electromagnetic radiation. “Silicon technology has advanced to the point where even tiny amounts of energy can do useful work.”

Two types of research groups are extending the boundaries of low-power wireless devices, said Brian Otis, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington. Some researchers are working to reduce the power required by the devices; others are learning how to harvest power from the environment. “One day,” Professor Otis said, “those two camps will meet, and then we will have devices that can run indefinitely.”