FIRE FROM THE SKY: This false-color, short-wavelength infrared image of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano's smaller eruption in March shows the power ofthis glacier-covered volcano.

A second possibility, for more power-hungry devices, is to fire a finely focused infrared laser beam at a photovoltaic cell, which converts the beam back to electrical energy.

The application of infrared data communication to power monitoring and measuring equipment is introduced.