Japanese scientists transmit solar energy wirelessly through space

[thesolar65]

Japanese scientists have found success with a whole new angle on wireless technology – beaming energy through space. Their recent achievement is an important step towards engineers’ ability to generate solar power in space for use on Earth.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) reports that scientists achieved the transmission of energy by using microwaves to deliver 1.8 kilowatts of power with great accuracy to a target 170 feet away. This marks the first time such a high output of power has been transferred via microwaves to such a small target.

“While the distance was not huge, the technology could pave the way for mankind to eventually tap the vast amount of solar energy available in space and use it here on Earth,” said a Discovery News report.

“This was the first time anyone has managed to send a high output of nearly two kilowatts of electric power via microwaves to a small target, using a delicate directivity control device,” said a spokesperson for JAXA. “But it could take decades before we see practical application of the technology—maybe in the 2040s or later. There are a number of challenges to overcome, such as how to send huge structures into space, how to construct them and how to maintain them.”

Satellites such as the ISS routinely collect solar power for their own functions, but sending solar-generated power down to Earth for use on the surface has not seemed feasible until JAXA’s revelation. JAXA researchers envision a future in which satellites carrying solar panels and antennae will send solar power down to receivers on Earth from about 22,300 miles up.

Solar power is easier to collect in space than on Earth due to the lack of interference from clouds and the ability of a satellite to spend more time in sunlight when it is not bound to rotate with the Earth into nighttime on the surface.
Japanese scientists transmit solar energy wirelessly through space | The Space Reporter

It will have deep impact on future energy supply.

@Skull and Bones @Developereo @Akheilos @faisal6309 @AUSTERLITZ @levina @OrionHunter @ArsalanKhan21 @SvenSvensonov @C130 @Nihonjin1051 @TimeTraveller @KAL-EL @Jaanbaz @WAJsal @gau8av @Ind4Ever @anant_s @Echo_419 @jbgt90

 

[Ind4Ever]

Wow now this is something !

While the distance was not huge, the technology could pave the way for mankind to eventually tap the vast amount of solar energy available in space and use it here on Earth,” said a Discovery News report.

Collecting solar energy from space and mastering technology to transfer it to earth will be very challenging .But possible. We already use mobile phone with wireless charging if this application can be used on electric cars or other automobiles it will re be a game changer for countries like India China which is starving for petroleum products from other countries.

Let's wait . May when we are in our 80s or 90s our grandkids will be charging their jet packs online

Our Japanese friends if u want and partnership on this kind of projects , Well you know whom to call

 

[Levina]

Great news!!
Soon we will 've microwave transmitting solar satellites.But what would be the side effects But then 2040s would be too late to start working on this idea.

Posting another article on the same topic.
********


The ultimate goal of the project is to relay power from orbit thousands of miles above Earth

A successful ground test of a system designed to ultimately collect solar power from orbit and beam it back down to Earth was announced in Japan this week by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The wireless power demonstration saw 10 kilowatts sent over microwaves from a transmitting unit to a receiver 500 meters (1,640 ft) away.

Mitsubishi says the reception of the power sent through the air was confirmed through the illumination of lights using part of the power transmitted. The company did not confirm what percentage of the power sent actually made it to the receiver, however, which is a key question as the ultimate goal is to relay power from orbit thousands of miles above Earth.

Previous tests of the technology yielded only a tiny fraction of the power sent from one Hawaiian island to another.

No one is expecting a huge orbiting solar farm and corresponding massive microwave power beam to be ready overnight, of course. Mitsubishi says that the successful test conducted at the company's Kobe Shipyard and Machinery Works has verified the viability of the concept, and that the transmission distance and power load mark new milestones for the technology.

Perhaps just as important, the testing confirmed the performance of the control system that will regulate the microwave beam itself. This is a big deal, because if the proposed microwave connection between an orbiting power station and large receiver units on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay were ever fired up at full power, it would be strong enough that workers would need to wear protective clothing – not the kind of thing you'd want to zap 100,000 people wandering through Shinjuku with by accident.



The testing was conducted with Japan Space Systems, a quasi-governmental non-profit carrying out the solar power wireless transmission project.

While successfully beaming power from the sun to Earth via an orbiting system of collectors at a large scale may be decades away, cost billions of dollars and require the invention of some new technologies, the investment can be justified for a country like Japan with limited natural resources, that's still reeling from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Mitsubishi also sees less ambitious applications for the technology, like wirelessly powering electric vehicles on Japan's roads.



Source: Mitsubishi


Japan takes a step towards beaming solar power to Earth from space

 

[Armstrong]

@Nihonjin1051 Wow !

 

[45'22']

Sounds like a James Bond movie

 

[Kloitra]

I thought sun has been doing this for past few billion years!

 

[Al Bhatti]

This is a big deal, because if the proposed microwave connection between an orbiting power station and large receiver units on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay were ever fired up at full power, it would be strong enough that workers would need to wear protective clothing – not the kind of thing you'd want to zap 100,000 people wandering through Shinjuku with by accident.

Maybe USA already has this technology or is working on it for military use as a weapon.

 

[Ind4Ever]

Maybe USA already has this technology or is working on it for military use as a weapon.

US only have technology to put a hole in Ozone Layer of its enemies

 

[thesolar65]

Great news!!
Soon we will 've microwave transmitting solar satellites.But what would be the side effects But then 2040s would be too late to start working on this idea.

I will be dead in 2037......my wife consulted an astrologer....to be on the safe side, so that she can prepare for worst!!

 

[Levina]

Maybe USA already has this technology or is working on it for military use as a weapon.

How can you say that?

I will be dead in 2037......my wife consulted an astrologer....to be on the safe side, so that she can prepare for worst!!

I might be dead tomorrow.
Life hi toh hai! Chill!
But I've made sure that I don't regret when I die, after all one life is all I 've. Lol

 

[Wolfhound]

Great news!!
Soon we will 've microwave transmitting solar satellites.But what would be the side effects But then 2040s would be too late to start working on this idea.

Posting another article on the same topic.
********


The ultimate goal of the project is to relay power from orbit thousands of miles above Earth

A successful ground test of a system designed to ultimately collect solar power from orbit and beam it back down to Earth was announced in Japan this week by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The wireless power demonstration saw 10 kilowatts sent over microwaves from a transmitting unit to a receiver 500 meters (1,640 ft) away.

Mitsubishi says the reception of the power sent through the air was confirmed through the illumination of lights using part of the power transmitted. The company did not confirm what percentage of the power sent actually made it to the receiver, however, which is a key question as the ultimate goal is to relay power from orbit thousands of miles above Earth.

Previous tests of the technology yielded only a tiny fraction of the power sent from one Hawaiian island to another.

No one is expecting a huge orbiting solar farm and corresponding massive microwave power beam to be ready overnight, of course. Mitsubishi says that the successful test conducted at the company's Kobe Shipyard and Machinery Works has verified the viability of the concept, and that the transmission distance and power load mark new milestones for the technology.

Perhaps just as important, the testing confirmed the performance of the control system that will regulate the microwave beam itself. This is a big deal, because if the proposed microwave connection between an orbiting power station and large receiver units on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay were ever fired up at full power, it would be strong enough that workers would need to wear protective clothing – not the kind of thing you'd want to zap 100,000 people wandering through Shinjuku with by accident.



The testing was conducted with Japan Space Systems, a quasi-governmental non-profit carrying out the solar power wireless transmission project.

While successfully beaming power from the sun to Earth via an orbiting system of collectors at a large scale may be decades away, cost billions of dollars and require the invention of some new technologies, the investment can be justified for a country like Japan with limited natural resources, that's still reeling from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Mitsubishi also sees less ambitious applications for the technology, like wirelessly powering electric vehicles on Japan's roads.



Source: Mitsubishi


Japan takes a step towards beaming solar power to Earth from space

That means our cars will have an unlimited range! I guess they might do the same for other kinds of vehicles as well to boost their operational ranges

 

[Imtiaz_Sarwar]

An interesting news in the field of science. Transmitting 1.8 Kilowatt over a distance of 170 feet. Well this must have been done on earth. How much power was used in the transmitter ? What is the efficiency of the transmitter ? How was the solar radiation converted from it's natural spectrum down to low frequency microwaves. What percentage of the transmitted microwaves will be absorbed by the atmosphere ? What will be the efficiency of the down converter on earth ? These all questions need to be answered before we can use solar energy from space.
Other than this I would like to congratulate Japanese scientists and Engineers for the hard work that they are doing. Keep it up and keep the world posted.

US only have technology to put a hole in Ozone Layer of its enemies

The only place where Ozone layers have formed are at the polar regions. US may have the technology to put holes in the ozone layer but it is a double edged sword. If they put a hole in ozone layer over their enemy's territory, it will spread to the whole world. It will effect them too.

 

[Echo_419]

Great news!!
Soon we will 've microwave transmitting solar satellites.But what would be the side effects But then 2040s would be too late to start working on this idea.

Posting another article on the same topic.
********


The ultimate goal of the project is to relay power from orbit thousands of miles above Earth

A successful ground test of a system designed to ultimately collect solar power from orbit and beam it back down to Earth was announced in Japan this week by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The wireless power demonstration saw 10 kilowatts sent over microwaves from a transmitting unit to a receiver 500 meters (1,640 ft) away.

Mitsubishi says the reception of the power sent through the air was confirmed through the illumination of lights using part of the power transmitted. The company did not confirm what percentage of the power sent actually made it to the receiver, however, which is a key question as the ultimate goal is to relay power from orbit thousands of miles above Earth.

Previous tests of the technology yielded only a tiny fraction of the power sent from one Hawaiian island to another.

No one is expecting a huge orbiting solar farm and corresponding massive microwave power beam to be ready overnight, of course. Mitsubishi says that the successful test conducted at the company's Kobe Shipyard and Machinery Works has verified the viability of the concept, and that the transmission distance and power load mark new milestones for the technology.

Perhaps just as important, the testing confirmed the performance of the control system that will regulate the microwave beam itself. This is a big deal, because if the proposed microwave connection between an orbiting power station and large receiver units on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay were ever fired up at full power, it would be strong enough that workers would need to wear protective clothing – not the kind of thing you'd want to zap 100,000 people wandering through Shinjuku with by accident.



The testing was conducted with Japan Space Systems, a quasi-governmental non-profit carrying out the solar power wireless transmission project.

While successfully beaming power from the sun to Earth via an orbiting system of collectors at a large scale may be decades away, cost billions of dollars and require the invention of some new technologies, the investment can be justified for a country like Japan with limited natural resources, that's still reeling from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Mitsubishi also sees less ambitious applications for the technology, like wirelessly powering electric vehicles on Japan's roads.



Source: Mitsubishi


Japan takes a step towards beaming solar power to Earth from space

Looks promising hope we are investing in this tech too

 

[Sneaker]

When I first read the title I was like d'uh, that is how solar energy is transmitted... do anyone see wires coming out from sun to earth??

 

[C130]

first step to this?
Japan Wants to Ring the Moon With Solar Panels to Power the Earth