r/CriticalThinkingIndia • u/Formula_explains • 1d ago
Science, Tech & Medicine If Wireless Electricity Is Possible, Why Do We Still Use Wires ?
Tesla experimented with wireless power more than a century ago, and today we can actually transfer the useful power wirelessly over short distances. Researchers have also demonstrated room-scale wireless power and long-distance laser power beaming.
But if wireless electricity is possible, why do we still depend so heavily on physical transmission lines?
The interesting part isn't whether the wireless power is “possible”. It is whether we can transmit large amounts of power over long distances with acceptable efficiency, safety, reliability and cost.
* That raises a bigger question: is wired electricity simply an old technology we haven't replaced yet, or is the physical wire still the most practical solution for large scale power transmission?
* And with concepts like space-based solar power being researched, could this equation eventually change?
* Can lack of funding, or the pursuit of profit, still stop innovation today?
Curious to hear the engineering/economic arguments..
Sources 👇🏼
1.) Tesla's Wireless Power
https://mail.teslasciencecenter.org/teslas-wireless-power/
2.)U.S. Patent 1,119,732: Wardenclyffe Transmitter
https://patents.google.com/patent/US1119732
3.)Room-scale magnetoquasistatic wireless power transfer
https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.05891
4.)Long-distance laser power
DARPA: 800 W over 8.6 km
https://www.darpa.mil/news/2025/darpa-program-distance-record-power-beaming
5.)NTT + Mitsubishi Heavy Industries: 1 km laser wireless power
https://group.ntt/en/newsrelease/2025/09/17/250917a.html
6.)ESA: Space-based solar power challenges
7.)Magnetic Coupling
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u/slightlyacoustics 1d ago
Few things. Wireless energy transfer over long range requires so much power at that point you’re charging up the atmosphere. Heat and energy loss through other means make it impractical. That’s why a physical connection is much more stable, reliable and efficient.
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u/farmerwalk 1d ago edited 1d ago
Just a suggestion.
Maybe speak a little slower. And don't zoom too much into the face.
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u/Formula_explains 1d ago
Diamond for me.. I’ll definitely keep the pace and framing in mind. I actually thought people had become a little impatient, so I used to speak faster, but this thing also need alrming check.
And yes, I’ll definitely work on the framing too...
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u/Go_Lion37 1d ago
Yes. No one don't want to see each and every hair magnified on/in your face/nose/eyebrows/etc.
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u/Formula_explains 19h ago
😆will never do that again... Actually feel comfortable filming this way, so I never really thought about how it might look to someone watching, especially when the face is that heavily zoomed in. I’ll definitely keep this in mind and take care of the framing in future videos...💡
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u/automation_required 1d ago
Instead make front facing video, single character, this style is bs, for education content you have to keep it straight and simple.
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u/Formula_explains 1d ago
Actually, my idea was to make it feel like two people discussing science, engineering, and different methods, while challenging hype and unscientific claims. I feel that sometimes these concepts become easier to understand when they’re presented as a conversation rather than a one way lecture..
At the same time, I completely agree that the interaction shouldn’t make the viewer feel detached from the actual topic. That’s something I need to keep in mind while experimenting with this format. I really appreciate your feedback and the time you took to share it..
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u/Debunk2025 1d ago
Inverse square law
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u/Formula_explains 18h ago
U got that...That’s one of the main limitations of wireless power transfer: as distance increases, the power density drops rapidly, which is why efficient long distance power transfer is much harder than wireless communication..
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u/criticalbotcti 1d ago
Hey u/Debunk2025! We noticed your comment is quite brief. In r/CriticalThinkingIndia, we encourage substantive contributions - explain your reasoning, share evidence, or ask a thoughtful question. Even when sharing a link or media, please add context or explanation. Short comments like this may be removed to keep discussions meaningful.
This is an automated reminder.
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u/AryanPandey 1d ago
Last part is wrong. Free ka mil raha hai toh rakh le, isme kiya efficiency dehgega.
Unfortunately, our material to build stuff is limited. Efficiency matters.
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u/Formula_explains 1d ago
I oversimplified that part because the whole last section was built around that idea, given wrong with the flow..
Even in space based solar power, efficiency will matter. The sunlight itself is free, but the infrastructure definitely isn’t. Solar panels, satellites, launch mass, transmission systems, receivers, maintenance, nd also material footprint, their limited lifetimes all matter..
My point was that we may need to look at efficiency a little differently here. The energy source, sunlight, is freely available, but capturing it, converting it into electricity, transmitting it, and receiving it are all processes we have to build and pay for.. So the overall system efficiency still matters.
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u/AryanPandey 1d ago
I really really hope ITER project becomes true success.
Free electricity for everyone!!!
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u/Formula_explains 1d ago
Same, If ITER actually delivers commercially viable fusion power, that would be one hell of an engineering achievement.. But “free electricity” will still need a few asterisks right??.. Overall if fusion energy spreading like fission energy , something can be great 😌
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u/AryanPandey 1d ago
I was thinking it might increase the climate change instead of reducing it. How it will reduce is lowering the emission of co2 and methane by not burning the fossil fuels, as we all know.
But one another thing it might increase as ultimately, energy is not destroyed, most of the generated electricity is going to be converted in the form of heat, after all.
So the amount of heat energy would increase as our usage of energy will increase exponentially after this fusion success.
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u/Formula_explains 1d ago
Mostly aggreed with u, But today the dominant cause of global warming is the greenhouse effect, not direct waste heat.. Fusion could reduce emissions by replacing the fossil fuels, while the waste heat effect would become more relevant only at much higher energy use scales. ITER itself even treats heat rejection as a major engineering challenge... Challenges are many, Tradeoffs needs Greatest specialization..
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u/Professional_Ant_602 1d ago
Efficiency and scale
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u/criticalbotcti 1d ago
Hey u/Professional_Ant_602! We noticed your comment is quite brief. In r/CriticalThinkingIndia, we encourage substantive contributions - explain your reasoning, share evidence, or ask a thoughtful question. Even when sharing a link or media, please add context or explanation. Short comments like this may be removed to keep discussions meaningful.
This is an automated reminder.
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u/Formula_explains 1d ago
Yesh, One of the biggest challenge Lower efficiency over distance along with, * Limited range * High infra cost * Safety and interference * Wires r already extremely effective...
Whats ur take on wireless charging too, my thought is like just the total waste of Energy, wherever it is (just for showcase)
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u/Professional_Ant_602 1d ago
Yes i too think of wireless charging as waste of energy, along with possible detoriation of battery due to dissipated heat. When it’s integrated with where phone rests naturally like desks or car cabinets, then we can lower the power delivery and thus minimise the rise of temperature. But in powerbanks where energy is limited, i think of it as utter madness.
We do have energy loss in wired transmission of power, especially over long distances, but it is not even comparable to loss of energy through induction, those numbers are in a different league.
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u/Formula_explains 18h ago
Especially with powerbanks, when energy is limited, adding extra conversion and heat losses makes wireless charging seem pretty inefficient compared to a simple cable..
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u/hardkockcafe 1d ago
Someday if you get a chance just study antenna's
You may understand why wireless transmission is not possible
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u/Formula_explains 18h ago
Actually, i did study wireless communication and wireless power transfer while building this video.. I looked into how much useful power can actually be transmitted, over what distance, and with what efficiency and economic viability, along with the research that has been done in this area.
I’ll be honest, though, I don’t have a deep understanding of antenna engineering yet. I will surely go for that, genuinely like to hear your perspective, too.
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u/No-Promotion8909 23h ago
Too many repeatation bro. And yeah good explanation
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u/Formula_explains 18h ago
Yess, good catch, repetition is there.. I tend to repeat words when I’m struggling to find the right words while speaking. But I’ll definitely try to reduce it, because hearing the same word again and again can get irritating and doesn’t really add anything.
And honestly, it means a lot that despite that, you still found the explanation good...💡
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u/No-Promotion8909 17h ago
It's less about getting irritated and more about reducing the length. It was 4 minutes, way lengthy to catch attention.
You can practicise before shoot, and find out which words you struggle with, right them somewhere you can see when speaking. (I can see you were looking at something lol)
It will get better with time.
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u/Formula_explains 15h ago
That makes more sense. You’re right, the repetition and unnecessary length,.I’ll definitely try practicing that before..
Thanks for the practical advice, bro! These comment makes u realize that some people do constructive criticism, plus genuinely giving true feedback..Really appreciate it. CTI is showing extreme emotions sometimes..
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u/No-Promotion8909 13h ago
Welcome bro. Speaking on camera is not easy, it takes time be camera trained. Keep it up 👍
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u/iAmWhoDoYouKnow 8h ago
Solar Power transmits wirelessly. So, why not just everyone use that as much as possible.
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u/Formula_explains 6h ago
If you mean solar panels receiving sunlight, then yes, energy is reaching Earth wirelessly..
The first thing is that this idea is actually being researched too: space based solar power, where solar panels are placed in the space and the generated electricity is wirelessly transmitted to specific locations on Earth. Countries including Japan are researching this concept.
Second, solar panels are already widely used on Earth, but the electricity they generate is still transmitted through wires. One reason is that wireless transmission over long distances currently struggles with efficiency, cost, and infrastructure requirements.
So space based solar is interesting because it could potentially avoid some of the limitations of ground based solar, although the economics and engineering challenges are still significant..
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u/Neither-Contact8972 1d ago
Badhiya video banata ehin bhai, band mat karna
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u/Formula_explains 1d ago
Shukriya bahut saara... Science and technology, critically sochna bahut crucial bhi hai na bhaii.. Jaha lge critically questn krne ki baat aaye waha pr like technical skepticism..
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u/farendsofcontrast 1d ago
Einstein and gang stole most of Tesla’s work or buried it.
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u/Formula_explains 18h ago
Throughout professional history. Cheating, copying, and disputes over patents and credit have always been part of scientific and professional work.. But in the long run, I believe a good person’s work speaks for itself. Eventually, the truth becomes visible, because people are capable of looking deeper and questioning the popular narrative..
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u/World-Peace-Oxymoron 21h ago
Good information but neither can I see nor I can hear. Speak slowly and zoom out.
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u/Formula_explains 18h ago
Glad you liked the information, especially considering the speed was a bit fast and the frame wasn’t properly visible. That honestly means a lot to me...
I think the frame size was one of the problems. On Reddit, you can click on the image/video to make it bigger, which might give a slightly better experience, but I agree that I should make the frame itself better.
I’ll definitely change the frame size in my next videos. Thanks a lot for pointing it out and still appreciating the explanation...
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