We all know how wonderful it is to have wireless internet. You can go just about anywhere you please and hang out with your computer. That is, until you realize you still need to be close enough to an outlet to power your laptop. All that wireless for nothing!

Luckily, this problem might not exist for much longer. Electricity may be headed for a cordless future if the latest invention from a company called WiTricity catches on.

WiTricity has created wireless electricity with a device that converts electricity into a magnetic field and sends it through the air to power devices nearby.

Eric Giler, CEO of WiTricity, has predicted that devices may start shedding their power cords within a year.
The power wouldn’t just extend to cell phones and laptops, but to televisions, phones, radios, even toasters!

All of this would be possible through technology called “magnetically coupled resonance.” According to CNN.com, magnetically coupled resonance sends a magnetic field through the air at a specific frequency that an enabled phone or TV can pick up and turn back into electricity. It works kind of like sound, CNN said. “Think about how an opera singer can break a wine glass if he sings at just the right frequency.”

CNN also had a great video on the subject, which I posted below. One of the reporters brought up a good point when he said “if it’s strong enough to send electricity through the air and charge the blackberry on my hip…what’s it doing to my brain!?”

Apparently, that isn’t going to be a problem. Scientists who created the product say it doesn’t emit radiation so safety isn’t a big concern. But the concern will undoubtedly be one of the roadblocks to adoption for this new technology. People are going to be wary about the potential negative health effects.

Scientists involved in the project are predicting wireless electricity will be the norm in 5 years and powering TVs, lamps and other electronics with cords will be a thing of the past. It seems we have a bright future in store for us!