We have all been using electrical power through wires for about 120 years; Tesla completed the first hydro-electric generating plant at Niagara Falls in 1895 and that began the electrification of the world.
In that time, we went from horses and steam powered railroads and ships to our modern age. Not a long time in Human history.
Electricity is the key; it is the most productive form of energy and, yet, we limit ourselves to sending it through wires where at least 20 percent of it is lost through heat (Ohm’s Law).
The first thing we should do is to figure out how to send electricity around the wire instead of through it; that would be a savings of 20 percent as the heat loss would be eliminated. If we can send power around a copper wire, we should be able to send it around a fiber-optics wire as well.
Wait a second, if we can electrical power around a wire or optic fiber, can we also send data around that same wire or fiber? Yes.
Wow. How about bandwidth? That depends on the diameter of the copper wire; twisted pair (RJ-11 jack) can carry up to 5 Megawatts of power and 100 Gigabytes of data. Coax cable copper (Cable TV) can carry 500 Megawatts of power and 5 Terabytes of data. Optical fiber (that is already buried in the ground) can carry 50 Gigawatts of electrical power and 500 Terabytes of data.
Wait a second, you mean carrying both power and data at the same time? Yes.
Wow. This will revolutionize bandwidth using existing wire and fiber that is already out there. Yes, that is the point.
What about wireless power? Can we get to wireless electricity like we use WiFi? Yes, but it is a low-bandwidth capability; it would be like going back to High Frequency Morse Code or about 1,000 letters per minute instead of the 2.4 or 5.6 Gigabits (billion bits) per second.
There are people who are already figuring the wireless power out, but the revolution is in putting the power and data around our existing infrastructure.
Have fun wrapping your minds around this.
Love, Light and Laughter,
