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Lexus Unveils Its Working Hoverboard
An anonymous reader writes: Lexus has revealed its eagerly anticipated "SLIDE" hoverboard, which uses magnetic fields to carry its rider without touching the ground. The board is confined to custom-built skatepark, remaining suspended due to the board's repulsion from a specially made magnetic track. Mark Templin, Executive Vice President at Lexus International said: "Embarking on this project, we set out to push the boundaries of technology, design and innovation to make the impossible possible. With this project we call 'SLIDE', we collaborated with partners who share our passion for creating enjoyment out of motion. Even through combining our technology and expertise, we discovered making a hoverboard isn't an easy process. We've experienced the highs and lows and have overcome a few challenges, but through mutual determination we have created a demonstration of our philosophy in design and technology to create Amazing in Motion."
Looks like Back to the Future Part II was correct in that we'd have hoverboards in 2015, but they're certainly not as advanced as in the film. However, the Lexus appears to work over water though, so I suppose they have that going for them.
creating enjoyment out of motion.
Unfortunately the top-selling Lexus is the ES series, which is anything but an enjoyment to be in. It is not by a long shot the worst car ever, but it is also far away from being the most enjoyable.
Another Lexus was also chosen by the Top Gear guys as The Worst Car in the History of the World, as well.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
What they don't show is how it really works. There's a reason they built a custom skateboard park for it.
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/05/secrets-of-the-lexus-hoverboard-revealed/
How many gigawatts will that thing run on, though?
"Never give up, for that is just the time and place when the tide will change." -Harriet Beecher Stowe ^_^
...laying that track down.
Dark Reflection
I know it's the year of Back to the future.. but we saw this article already... or was that another timeline?
Would that mean that skating time in this park would cost comparably to time in an MRI machine? Not even Lexus drivers will be able to afford this.
Yeah...so blasting air at hundreds of PSI through tiny holes. Keep your arms and legs over the hoverboard at all times - lest they be chopped off by the high pressure air stream.
How many gigawatts will that thing run on, though?
Actually none - it uses liquid nitrogen to keep the superconducting pads below critical temperature. Hence the wisps of condensation from the feet of the rider in the video. The superconductor is then essentially quantum locked into the magnetic field produced by the buried track: any change in field would induce a current in the superconductor to oppose that change. This is actually a common physics demo they have just improved the presentation. Still it would be a fantastic way to make an entrance for a relevant lecture - I wonder if they offer academic pricing for the board and track installation...
But you wouldn't be able to kick flip this thing anyways... nor even steer by leaning, for that matter.
It is useless as a skateboard except for stunts that require travelling in a straight line such as jumps that use a ramp.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Oh, and also no, it wouldn't stick to the ground at all. It's not the orientation of the magnets in the board that cause it to repel, it's what those magnets are made of and that they are kept cold enough to maintain the effect.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
It'll go great with my BTTF2 shoes and holographic hat.
I would imagine that it was moving fast enough, the inertia of the board and the person standing on it might be enough to still push it off the ramp.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
I can not help but wonder if everyone that rides one acts like assholes rides slow while testing and thinks they own the whole skate park?
blah blah, why do you thin it would cut off your damn arms?
it's not so bad, actually. ever see a free-fall vertical wind tunnel? just scale that up to skatepark size.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Because an air hockey table isn't a wind tunnel. It's a flat surface with small holes producing the air cushion. It's like adapting a firehose to a pencil-sized opening. The smaller the hole, the higher the PSI required within the hole to get the same average PSI across the whole surface.
Do you wannt to skate at my place, bouncy bouncy!
Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!
Vote for Bernie in 2016!
Completely unnecessary. If they just put a device on the hoverboard which eliminated gravitational effects, it'd hover without any magnetism at all!
Alternatively, they could just invent thrust generators running on a perpetuum mobile energy source.
Requiring somebody to build laws-of-physics breaking technology to make your "invention" work makes you sound like an industrial designer.
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