Platter of Half Baked Ideas

We live in a wireless world. Except we don’t. Sure, we can send huge amounts of information across the airwaves, but the devices capable of sending and receiving it are tied down to power cords. Batteries allow some freedom but, eventually, we all have to come back around to the familiar face of the power outlet. What if we didn’t? What if we could charge anywhere, at any time? This is the promise of wireless charging, a concept that seems ripped from sci-fi. But it’s not – it’s real, and it’s available today. Let’s look at the reality and see what this technology can and can’t accomplish. How Wireless Charging Works The term “wireless charging” usually refers to inductive charging. This technology uses a charging station that creates an alternating magnetic field. A device with the proper induction coil will receive energy from that field when it is placed nearby, making it receive power without a physical connection. Cordless toothbrushes and other bathroom devices have u...

Over the last year and a half, I have often asked our batch-mates about how we can make our campus greener. The answers have varied from “We already have enough of plants and wild life on campus” to “we have lots of wasted space where more trees can be planted” to “we need to reduce littering and have more dust bins etc placed at different locations within the campus”. But these are very limited view of being green. In today’s parlance, being green does not just mean having or planting lots of trees. In layman’s terms, “going green” refers to individual action that a person can consciously take to curb harmful effects on the environment through consumer habits, behavior, and lifestyle. An individual’s impact on environment can now be calculated easily using simple tools available on the net. The unit of measurement is carbon units. With such a definition in mind, I think our campus can be greener – a lot greener. Without even our realizing it, a lot of wastage takes place on our ...