The hoverboard was seen first in the movie “Back to the Future” where Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) was chased by a gang of hooligans. A hoverboard is similar in appearance to a skateboard but actually “hovers” instead of rolling with wheels – hence the name. They were manufactured in 2015 (in the movie) for all age ranges by different companies. Mattel made a pink-colored model for young girls. Other companies made more aggressive boards that were used by gangs in some instances, including the No Tech series, the Rising Sun, the Question Mark and the Pit Bull, a rocket-fired board with three attachments for other riders on similar boards.
Recently, the impossible hoverboard has been made a real deal! In a video posted in YouTube last June entitled The Lexus Hoverboard: It’s here, Japanese automaker Lexus claims to have created a “real, rideable” hoverboard. Using superconducting magnets chilled by liquid nitrogen, they created a board that hovers a few inches off the ground. The video is about 2 minutes, and it shows how hoverboards can be use like a real skateboard. Professional skateboarders tried it and felt amazing after skating without friction.
To date, the video gathered almost 10 million views on YouTube. A lot of companies have already tried making the hoverboard but the constant problem they are encountering is that the board seems to be failing to manage the rider’s weight.
A lot of people are doubting the ability of the Lexus hoverboard to glide around the skate park. Mainly because this hoverboard stays active for a long time unlike any other hoverboard which can only stay active in 4 seconds. Some netizens are saying that it is just a hoax like any other videos on YouTube. Take it from the video of Tony Hawk, who played the hoverboard and acted as if it was real. Well, it turned out to be a hoax. He apologized to the viewers though.
Now for the “howevers” about the Lexus Hoverboard. It has to float over a magnet-filled track, it needs to be refilled every 15 minutes and even a pro-skater had trouble balancing on it after four months of practice. So yes, the skate park on the videos has magnets under it. And yes, again, you cannot play it anywhere without these little magic tricks.
At this time, the board was made possible using a technology similar to magnetic levitation (“maglev”) high-speed trains. Two magnets with the same polarity oppose each other. If you can put one on the floating board and one in the ground, they should push each other away, making the board float.
So, what do you think? Can we really have a hoverboard just like Marty’s?
Now you’ve heard all about the Lexus hoverboard, share your thoughts!
