Why Wireless Charging Is Actually Terrible (200-Year-Old Physics Explains)

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]Did you know your wireless charger is actually using 200-year-old physics to beam electricity through thin air?

[00:00:06]Here's how this seemingly magical technology really works. Inside your charging pad is a coil of copper wire.

[00:00:13]When electricity flows through it, [music] it creates an invisible magnetic field that pulses 30,000 times per second. Your phone has a matching coil inside. When you place it on the pad, that pulsing magnetic field passes right through the plastic and glass, [music] causing electrons in your phone's coil to start moving. Moving electrons create electricity.

[00:00:35]>> [music] >> This is called electromagnetic induction, discovered by Michael Faraday back in 1831.

[00:00:42]But here's the catch. This wireless transfer wastes about 40% of the energy as heat. That's why your phone gets warm and charges slower than with a cable.

[00:00:51]The magnetic field only works over tiny distances. [music] Move your phone just a few millimeters off center and the efficiency drops even more. So while wireless charging looks [music] like magic, it's actually a pretty inefficient way to move power. Physics always has tradeoffs, [music] and convenience usually comes at a cost.