It has been reported that the U.S. Navy, under the project named “Safe and Continuous Power Beaming – Microwave (SCOPE-M), has effectuated the transmission of wireless power through a systematic microwave beam technology. The experiment went smoothly and successfully, and power of 1.6 KW was disseminated across a range of around 1 kilometer. The frequency of the microwave beam was well chosen at 10 GHz, which has the capacity to resist extreme weather conditions like heavy rain, thereby channeling it to its source with a power loss of less than 5%. The project also meets the international recommended and standard parameters for the safety of birds, animals, and human beings, which determines that the power can be transmitted without causing any type of harm to the above-mentioned species.
“Although SCOPE-M was a terrestrial power beaming link, it was a good proof of concept for a space power beaming link. “The main benefit of space-to-Earth power beaming for the DOD is to mitigate the reliance on the fuel supply for troops, which can be vulnerable to attack,”,” said Brian Tierney, SCOPE-M electronics engineer. The testing and trials of this technology were being performed in two institutes, i.e., the US Army Research Field in Maryland and the second one being conducted at the Haystack Ultra-Wideband Satellite Imaging Radar (HUSIR) transmitter in Massachusetts. However, the results of these examinations were at their optimum level, i.e., at an efficiency of 60%, in Maryland, but unfortunately, the results of the same magnitude were not being delivered at MIT in Massachusetts. Nevertheless, when the average power range was measured, this had a higher energy transmission level in comparison.
Thus, for this efficient transmission, electricity is transmuted into microwaves. These captured microwaves are then collected at the receiver, which is made up of rectenna elements, and the microwaves are always focused in the form of a tight beam. As a result, direct current (DC) is produced when these microwaves hit the target at the receiver. According to researchers, this new SCOPE-M technology is so coherent that it has the ability to transfer electricity to all the national grid stations on Earth 24/7 from space stations because the American physicist Gerard K. stated that the concept of power transmission can be molded by building space colonies consisting of huge solar collectors that may beam the power back to the earth. He gave this concept in the 1970s. Last, but not least, we can now hope to see efficient power generation in the years to come.
