Recently, the word “wireless charging” is getting more prevalent. So what is it, and what are its applications? Let’s read on and find out with us!

Wireless charging: what is it?

In simple terms for smartphone users, that means you can charge your phone without having to plug a cable to your phone. Typically in a wireless charging process, there are a device (to charge, i.e your phone), a charger (usually in the form of a pad), and two coils, one in the device and the other in the charger. When two coils are near enough, they will react with the electromagnetic field, which creates a transformer (which acts like the wire in traditional charging), and the wireless charging process starts.

We may question that is it really wireless yet. The answer is yes, to some extent. It’s true that we can’t see any wire between the electric device and a charger. However, there are wires connecting the charger to a energy source. As a result, it’s not a true wireless charging yet!

Along side with some advantages, wireless charging also has flaw. Firstly, it is safer than traditional charging as the internal coils are not exposed to wet environment. Therefore, the likelihood of electric shock can be lower. Besides, it’s also easy to use. However, because of less heat loss, the output of heat is higher than traditional charging. Thus, if you use a wireless charging pad, you should place it on a heat resistant surface. In addition, wireless chargers are more expensive than the traditional.

A promising future!

In US, Starbucks has equipped wireless charging in many stores as well as some McDonald’s restaurants in UK. Today, some smartphone makers integrate wireless charging function in some of their new products. But the potential of this kind of charging is really promising. There are some companies that are conducting experiments on true wireless charging. So, the birth of true wireless charging is now only a matter of time!