Lexus Maglev Hoverboard Goes Back to the Future August 5th
Tony Hawk is probably the most famous skateboarder of all time while Shaun White is the face of snowboarding, but who will represent the hoverboard? Marty McFly is the obvious candidate, except he's a fictional character. Oh, and there's also the problem of availability -- you can't just buy a hoverboard on a whim, though that may soon change.
Remember the Lexus Hoverboard that made headlines a month ago? Lexus wasn't willing to reveal too many details about its creation, though it did drop a teaser video that showed the thing hovering about an inch above the ground with steam coming out of its sides. Science fiction? Not quite, and in a new video posted to YouTube, Lexus pegs August 5 as the release date.
Hopefully that's when all our questions will be answered. In the meantime, there are certain things we already know about the Lexus Hoverboard. One of those things is the use of magnets, just like other existing solutions. The thing is, the heavier an object that's levitating, the stronger and cooler those magnets need to be.
That's why you see steam coming from the Lexus Hoverboard. That's the liquid nitrogen.
"The Lexus Hoverboard uses magnetic levitation to achieve amazing frictionless movement. Liquid nitrogen cooled superconductors and permanent magnets combine to allow Lexus to create the impossible," Lexus explains.
What we really want to know is if the Lexus Hoverboard can really hover above concrete, as the teaser videos seem to indicate. Other solutions have required special surfaces designed to interact with the magnets, so it will be interesting to see how the Lexus Hoverboard operates.
Remember the Lexus Hoverboard that made headlines a month ago? Lexus wasn't willing to reveal too many details about its creation, though it did drop a teaser video that showed the thing hovering about an inch above the ground with steam coming out of its sides. Science fiction? Not quite, and in a new video posted to YouTube, Lexus pegs August 5 as the release date.
Hopefully that's when all our questions will be answered. In the meantime, there are certain things we already know about the Lexus Hoverboard. One of those things is the use of magnets, just like other existing solutions. The thing is, the heavier an object that's levitating, the stronger and cooler those magnets need to be.
That's why you see steam coming from the Lexus Hoverboard. That's the liquid nitrogen.
"The Lexus Hoverboard uses magnetic levitation to achieve amazing frictionless movement. Liquid nitrogen cooled superconductors and permanent magnets combine to allow Lexus to create the impossible," Lexus explains.
What we really want to know is if the Lexus Hoverboard can really hover above concrete, as the teaser videos seem to indicate. Other solutions have required special surfaces designed to interact with the magnets, so it will be interesting to see how the Lexus Hoverboard operates.
