Wireless Electricity by MIT Dudes

Now those eggheads at MIT (massachusetts institute of technology) have done something truly magic, figuring out a way to send power seven feet away, and look ma, no wires. Their trick uses resonant coupling, turning electricity into magnetic energy resonating at a certain frequency that proved to have that old black magic. For some reason, 10MHz is that certain magic number. Resonating a coil at that frequency on one side of the room, it sends its magneto-goodness over to the other side where there's another coil that also resonates at that same 10MHz frequency. Yeah, for some strange reason, this magnetic energy is able to jump across a 7-foot space, but only at that specific 10MHz frequency. Cool. There must be a catch to this. For one thing, the power is transferred with 45% efficiency, which won't exactly be energy-saving. Also, with all those techno-power magnetic waves floating around, some crackpots will be tempted to get out their tinfoil hats, and those who believe that magnets can have profoundly dangerous effects on the human body will also be getting pretty jittery. Never mind all that, say the genius researchers, who declare the power transmission safe, even for pacemaker wearers. They admit it might be a few years before we see this jaw-dropping tech in general use, but this is a start. They've proven that the idea works, and now they just going to need to perfect it.

Mystery Bulb Lights Up While Hanging in Space

What? Lightbulbs don't need to be screwed in any more? This picture of a mysteriously levitating lightbulb is said to be an unaltered photo of an art piece to be demonstrated at an exhibition in Barcelona later this week. A new version of an earlier prototype, the scant info released thus far tells us it's an electromagnetically levitated lightbulb, and that it's wirelessly powered. What else do we know about this seemingly supernatural feat? It's been improved over its predecessor from a couple of years ago, and its creator says it has much higher efficiency, letting the lightbulb glow brighter and use less electricity at the same time. Using those weird magnets, it's able to hang there in space, 2.5 inches above its base. Apparently, there are electromagnets inside the bulb that repel those magnets on the ceiling and floor of this installation.