Lexus hoverboard
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The Slide (stylized SLIDE) is a magnetically levatating hoverboard demonstration developed by Lexus,[1] who built a skate park in Barcelona, Spain specifically for the project. The system was built as a promotional demonstration and was not on sale to the public.[1][2]
Conception[edit]
The overall project took about 57 weeks to complete.[3][4] The SLIDE was teased in June 2015 and was officially revealed 5 August of the same year.[5][6] Dietmar Berger, a magnetic levitation engineer, and Ludwig Schultz, a pioneer of superconducting levitation, were mostly responsible for the design of the system.[7][8] Professional skateboarder Ross McGouran was the main rider for both prototype testing and promotional demonstration.[3]
Technology[edit]
The main focus of the demonstration is the levitation of the hoverboard, which was achieved through the use of superconductors inside the board and a magnetic track. The board itself was made of bamboo and carbon fibre support structures.[9] The board had 32 yttrium barium copper oxide superconductors cooled by liquid nitrogen.[10]
Superconductors are conductors that have no internal resistance as long as they are kept below a certain temperature.[11] When a metal has no internal resistance, a current running through the metal will run forever without a power source. When a superconductor is subjected to a magnetic field, the superconductor aligns itself with the magnetic field and floats on top of it.[12] Superconductors only have zero internal resistance when cooled to a certain temperature. In order to achieve this the system uses liquid nitrogen to cool it down to −197 °C (76.1 K; −322.6 °F).[8][13][14] Even though liquid nitrogen cools down the superconductors, it also boils at the same temperature.[13] This makes it difficult to have a constant supply of liquid nitrogen to continually cool down the superconductors; the system can only operate for an average time of about 20 minutes on maximum liquid nitrogen onboard capacity.[15]
Track[edit]
The track built by Lexus for the SLIDE project is in Cubelles, Barcelona, Spain.[16] The entire skate park has magnetic tracks concealed beneath a thin layer of wood. The magnetic track pulls the board along the path.[3] All the uphill and downhill slopes of the track were specifically designed to ensure the magnetic field has enough momentum to pull the board.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "The Lexus hoverboard is real, but it isn't coming to a skate park near you".
- ^ "Lexus let skateboarders put its hoverboard to the test". Engadget. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
- ^ a b c d "A look at the making of the Lexus SLIDE Hoverboard | Stephen Gates Blog on digital, design, leadership and innovation". 5 August 2015.
- ^ "Lexus Slide hoverboard: New videos show how it was made and rea". 4 August 2015.
- ^ "Lexus Built a Hoverboard, And No, You Can't Buy It". The Cheat Sheet. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
- ^ "Are you ready for the future? Lexus to unveil its Slide hoverboard August 5". Digital Trends. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
- ^ "Lexus Takes the Wraps off Its Mysterious Slide Hoverboard". NBC News.
- ^ a b "Lexus Slide hoverboard really works | News | Geek.com". Archived from the original on 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
- ^ Barrett, Brian. "How That Lexus Hoverboard Actually Works". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
- ^ Farrha Khan (2015-08-05). "This is how the Lexus hoverboard really works". TechRadar. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
- ^ "Superconductors".
- ^ "Meissner effect for superconductors".
- ^ a b "Everything You Need to Know About Liquid Nitrogen".
- ^ "I rode the Lexus hoverboard at a skatepark in Spain". 4 August 2015.
- ^ Barrett, Brian. "How That Lexus Hoverboard Actually Works". Wired.
- ^ "This is the skatepark Lexus built for its real hoverboard". 25 June 2015.