US military successfully tests laser beam to deliver power to a location 8.6 km away, creating wireless popcorn
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has successfully transmitted over 800 watts of power to a target 5.3 miles (8.6 km) away using a laser for 30 seconds.
DARPA program sets distance record for power beaming | DARPA
DARPA smashes wireless power record, beaming energy more than 5 miles away — and uses it to make popcorn | Live Science
DARPA said, 'Energy is at the heart of military operations, but traditional means of delivering energy to the front lines are often incredibly slow, risky and resource-intensive. This test, called PRAD (POWER Receiver Array Demo), is being carried out with the goal of building a new system that can instantly deliver power from easily transmitted locations to where it is needed, without being limited by fuel limitations.'
To increase its power and range, PRAD uses new receiver technology with a compact aperture to shine the laser beam through, so that almost no light escapes once it enters the receiver. Inside the receiver, the laser hits a parabolic mirror, which reflects the beam onto dozens of solar cells, converting the energy back into usable electricity.
This resulted in the transmission of power from the transmitter to the receiver with an efficiency of approximately 20%.
The project team used the received electricity to make popcorn as an homage to the scene in the movie '
The scene in Genius Academy looks like this:
Real Genius (8/8) Movie CLIP - Jerry's House of Popcorn (1985) HD - YouTube
'Not only does this demonstration obscure all existing records for delivering power with a laser beam,' said program manager Paul Jaffe. 'This demonstration shatters misconceptions about the limitations of the technology and inspires us to rethink what's possible next.'
DARPA plans to move on to testing transmitting power through multiple sites and vertical transmission, where the atmosphere is thinner and transmission efficiency is higher.
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