Wireless charging uses electromagnetic induction, a principle discovered by Michael Faraday in 1831. An alternating current flowing through a coil in the charging pad creates a changing magnetic field. That field induces a current in a second coil inside the phone, which the phone’s electronics convert into charging power. The process requires the two coils to be close together because magnetic fields weaken rapidly with distance. The same basic principle now being developed for electric vehicle charging is the same Faraday demonstrated nearly two hundred years ago.
Daniel and Mom trace the physics from Faraday’s discovery through the coils in a charging pad to why wireless charging only works at close range and what the future of the technology looks like for electric vehicles.
Daniel is nine. He asks the questions, refuses to accept easy answers, and picks every episode topic himself.
Mom does the digging - finding the sources, checking the claims, and translating them into something a nine-year-old will actually sit still for.
Wireless charging uses electromagnetic induction: a coil in the pad creates a current in a coil in the phone.
The principle was discovered by Michael Faraday in 1831. The technology in phones uses the same physics.
Magnetic fields fade quickly with distance, which is why the phone must be placed close to the pad.
The same induction principle is being developed for electric vehicle charging on a much larger scale.
“Tesla would be so proud of my phone.”
One email when a new one lands. Nothing else.
