I guess as a broader question, how does wireless power transfer work in general and how are we able to transfer it from space, as I saw an article on it a while back.
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I’ll start by saying that phone wireless charging and beamed power from space are different technologies.
Your phone uses something called “induction charging”. This uses two laws of physics: 1. An electrical current produces a magnetic field and 2. changing magnetic fields generate electrical voltage.
Your wireless phone charger has a wire loop or coil that it passes a changing electric current through, so this produces a changing magnetic field around it. Your phone has a loop or coil in it, that reacts to this changing magnetic field by producing a current that can be used to charge your battery.
I’m not a expert in beamed power, but I believe current proposals basically use the same principle as solar panels: On the sending side use a laser to turn electrical energy into light energy, and on the receiving side, use photovoltaic cells (solar panels are made of these) to turn light back into electricity.
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