Home >> Science & Nature >> Science

How to Transfer Electricity Without Wire

Conventional electricity can be thought of as the flow of electrons through metallic wires. The electrical infrastructure within cities consists of many millions of wires which carry electricity from power stations to homes and offices. Although it is not a well-known fact, electrical energy can be transferred between wires that are not connected. This phenomenon can occur with the use of an electromagnet, and a standard wire. Electrical energy flowing through the coil generates a magnetic field. Any change in the magnetic field will subsequently induce an electrical voltage in a suitably placed wire.

Things You'll Need

DC power supply
Electromagnet
Rigid wire
Nano-voltmeter

Instructions

- 1
  Connect a DC power supply to the electromagnet. The electromagnet should have a positive and negative terminal. Connect these to their respective terminals on the DC power supply.
- 2
  Coil the rigid wire around your finger. Put at least 100 turns in the wire coil. Remove your finger, and ensure that the wire coil keeps its shape. Place the wire coil between the poles of the electromagnet, so the "circles" of the coil are pointing in the same direction as the "circles" of the electromagnet coil. In this geometry, the magnetic field should go through the circles of the wire coil.
- 3
  Connect the ends of the wire coil to the nano-voltmeter. Connect one side of the wire coil to the positive terminal and the other side to the negative terminal. Switch on the DC power supply and the nano-voltmeter.
- 4
  Turn up the current on the DC power supply to produce a field in the electromagnet. An electrical voltage spike should be detected in the wire coil due to Faraday's law, which states that a changing magnetic field will generate a voltage (electricity) in a nearby wire. Since the electromagnet is not physically connected to the wire coil, the electrical energy from the electromagnet is being "transmitted" without the use of wire.

Science