Lexus hoverboard

The Slide (stylized SLIDE) is a maglev hoverboard demonstration developed by Lexus.[1] Lexus built a skate park in Barcelona, Spain specifically for the project. The system was built as a promotional demonstration, not for public sale.[1][2]

Conception

The overall project took about 57 weeks from start to finish.[3][4] The SLIDE was teased in June and officially revealed August 5, 2015.[5][6] Dietmar Berger, a magnetic levitation engineer, and Ludwig Schultz, a pioneer of superconducting levitation, were the main experts responsible for the design of the system.[7][8] Professional skateboarder Ross McGouran was the main rider for prototype testing and also promotional riding as well.[3]

Technology

The main focus of the demonstration is the levitation of the hoverboard, achieved through the use of superconductors inside the board and a magnetic track. The board itself is made of bamboo and carbon fibre support structures.[9] The board has 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

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
  1. "The Lexus hoverboard is real, but it isn't coming to a skate park near you".
  2. "Lexus let skateboarders put its hoverboard to the test". Engadget. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  3. "A look at the making of the Lexus SLIDE Hoverboard | Stephen Gates Blog on digital, design, leadership and innovation". 5 August 2015.
  4. "Lexus Slide hoverboard: New videos show how it was made and rea". 4 August 2015.
  5. "Lexus Built a Hoverboard, And No, You Can't Buy It". The Cheat Sheet. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  6. "Are you ready for the future? Lexus to unveil its Slide hoverboard August 5". Digital Trends. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  7. "Lexus Takes the Wraps off Its Mysterious Slide Hoverboard". NBC News.
  8. "Lexus Slide hoverboard really works | News | Geek.com". Archived from the original on 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  9. Barrett, Brian. "How That Lexus Hoverboard Actually Works". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  10. Farrha Khan (2015-08-05). "This is how the Lexus hoverboard really works". TechRadar. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  11. "Superconductors".
  12. "Meissner effect for superconductors".
  13. "Everything You Need to Know About Liquid Nitrogen".
  14. "I rode the Lexus hoverboard at a skatepark in Spain". 4 August 2015.
  15. Barrett, Brian. "How That Lexus Hoverboard Actually Works". Wired.
  16. "This is the skatepark Lexus built for its real hoverboard". 25 June 2015.
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