So apparently aluminum has issues with wireless charging which is why the M8 and other metal phones don't have wireless charging. But why is that? Does it have something to do with the chemical composition of aluminum?
Exactly why can't aluminum phones like the HTC One M8 have wireless charging?
- Thread starter CannedBullets
- Start date
This^^^
Aluminum is a poor electricity conductor.
If you were dying and it's because you absolutely need electricity...For whatever hypothetical reason...Aluminum should be the last metal you ever reach for.
Electricity easily goes through glass and plastic, and thus to thin copper wires in the phone, to charge it!...Copper is a good conductor. It's like comparing me(aluminum) to Bach(copper)..One is just really poor and useless, and the other will make a great symphony.
So what's a good lightweight and conductive metal that HTC can make phones out of to get wireless charging other than switching to plastic faux-metal like the LG G3?
Aluminum is not as good a conductor as copper or other metals, sure. But your post is implying the both plastic and glass are superior conductors to aluminum, which is simply incorrect. Glass is an insulator, as is plastic. Aluminum is a conductor, heck they used wire homes with aluminum.
If I had to venture an educated guess as to why you cannot have wireless charging in an aluminum phone, it would be that the aluminum creates a Faraday cage, at least in part. This means that aluminum conducts the electricity around the interior of the phone, instead of straight through to the charging coil. This is the same reason that they have to put plastic breaks to house the antennae.
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Pretty much this. In the Lumia 920, all that created the wireless charging was a well placed copper coil. The thing is that the electricity had kind of a focal point and thus you got your charge all directed there as it was the only metal in range.
LeoRex
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Close, you're in the ballpark. Wireless charging transfers energy from the charger to the charging coil on your battery/case via induction.... the electric field from the charger interacts with the charging coil.... The key thing here is that ALL the energy from the charger coil should go to the battery because if it doesn't, that means that something might go spitzen-sparken. Now, if you throw some conductive bits in that field between the charger and the battery's charging coil, say an aluminum case, the case may intercept the field, inducing a current on the case itself.
Long story short (he he), you really don't want that to happen. Because if the electric charge isn't going into the battery, where do you think it will go?
I'm aware, but any metal will have all the same problems aluminum does, so I was suggesting alternate materials to plastic
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LeoRex
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Carbon fiber would be pretty cool.... might not exactly be cost effective in mass production though... pricey stuff.
You know, to be honest, a good, high quality plastic is still the way to go, in my opinion. It's light, can be made both thin and strong... it is pretty durable and can be made to look pretty much any way you want it. People may not agree and think "cheap crap" when they see the world, but not all plastics lead to cheap crap.
Well, carbon fiber is conductive. That's the reason Formula One safety marshals and pit crewmembers wear insulated gloves. The cars are made of carbon fiber and the energy recovery systems on the car mean that touching an F1 car when the ERS is on without insulated gloves will result in electrocution.
That's why a mechanic actually got electrocuted a couple years back when they failed to turn off the ERS on it. Also, in the event that a driver has to escape the car and is unable to turn off the ERS, they have to jump away with both feet away from the car, if they got out normally one part of their body would touch the car and the other part would touch the ground, completing the circuit and electrocuting them.
zedorda
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- Mar 16, 2011
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You need to learn the differences between "static electricity" and "current electricity". Just because a material can harbor alot of static electricity doesn't mean it is conductive.
zedorda
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Carbon fiber would be pretty cool.... might not exactly be cost effective in mass production though... pricey stuff.
You know, to be honest, a good, high quality plastic is still the way to go, in my opinion. It's light, can be made both thin and strong... it is pretty durable and can be made to look pretty much any way you want it. People may not agree and think "cheap crap" when they see the world, but not all plastics lead to cheap crap.
It is the better choice even if current iterations are not the best quality examples of what can be accomplished with plastics. Alot of battlefield tanks have plastic treads.
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