Power cables are the bane of modern existence. If you own a desktop PC, a phone and perhaps a media player, you're likely to have at least one power socket that looks like spaghetti junction.
Which is why there is a growing interest in wireless power transmission. RFID chips have become ubiquitous in the western world thanks to the ability to provide them with small amounts of power power wirelessly.
But there have been many much more ambitious attempts to devise more powerful ways to transmit power. The Japanese have a long-standing interest in beaming power to the ground from solar panels in space. With limited natural resources of their own, they see this as one way to secure their energy supply.
One of the limitations of aircraft is the amount of fuel they can carry so there have been various attempts to beam power to them using microwaves and lasers. Some researchers have even looked at the possibility of launching and powering a spacecraft on the tip of a powerful laser beam.
Closer to home, the idea of wirelessly recharging portable devices such as smartphones, laptops and media players has obvious appeal. And in recent years, various wireless charging devices have hit the market. Researchers have even demonstrated the possibility of beaming power across a room to these machines.
There are numerous problems with all these ideas. Microwave and laser beams can carry significant power but they also tend to fry anything that gets in their way.
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