What the Heck Did I Just See!? How Lexus and Their Hoverboard Were Onto Something Special

Folks, the crew over at Lexus actually managed to create a hoverboard, and it's a bit different than what we're used to seeing in cartoons and movies. Oh, this happened years ago, back in 2015, to be precise, so why isn't everyone riding Lexus-branded hoverboards?

In June 2015, Lexus revealed a series of videos and a press release showcasing the stuff of science fiction. Well, in today's modern and tech-laden society, science fiction is very much a reality, and what you're witnessing in the video(s) below and the image gallery is a real-life hoverboard.

But how does it work? Well, here's the really tricky part. All that steam you see coming out of the board is actually due to the presence of hyper-cooled components, in this case, a set of superconductors chilled down to a bone-shattering -197 Celsius (-322 Fahrenheit) with the help of liquid nitrogen.

Suppose you're into the whole science bit of things. In that case, it's possible that you've seen an array of demonstrations over the course of the last few years showing a sort of hockey puck floating above a bed of metalloid objects or track. What that process depicts is something called quantum levitation or locking.

Yet, there's one massive key component missing from what I've described so far: magnets, and lots of them, or just really powerful ones. In order for quantum levitation to occur, the presence of a magnetic field is necessary, sometimes two, and depending on how those magnets are arranged and generating their fields, super-chilled superconductors become "trapped" and either levitate in place (locking) or move about on a predefined track of magnetic fields (levitation).

But, to make this whole hoverboard project work, the Lexus team had to figure out a way to put the two together, a feat that took around 18 months. At the end of it all, they actually pulled it off, but with a small tiny catch, a special skatepark designed and built precisely for this feat. Based on what we've learned about this sort of tech, the entire park would have to be one massive magnet. Think about that for a moment.

Now, to make this happen, Lexus worked with yet another team, the folks over at IFW Dresden and Evico GmbH, crews specializing in magnetic levitation. With their help, 200 meters (656 feet) of track were developed for this project and laid underneath the skatepark.

In reality, the pro rider we see, Ross McGouran, is moving around on those hidden tracks, explaining why we often see the board running out of proverbial "road" and dipping its nose into the ground. Sometimes, just the sheer weight of the rider and gravity are enough to overcome the magnetic field's repellence.

Be sure to take a closer look at both videos below to get an understanding of the hard work that went into this project, how it all works, and, most importantly, what can be achieved in these tech and discovery-filled days we live in. Personally, I feel we live in the most amazing times.

Even McGouran feels that this entire experience is on a whole new level, stating, "I've spent 20 years skateboarding, but without friction, it feels like I've had to learn a whole new skill, particularly in the stance and balance in order to ride the hoverboard. It's a whole new experience.”

What caught my attention the most and had me riding on the edge of my seat all the way to the end of the videos was the levitating magic. I honestly can't get enough of it and the fact that all this is possible today! Actually, since the proverbial "yesterday."

Yet, if we take what Lexus has achieved here and really run with the idea, where could we be headed? Are we going to be moving around with the use of liquid hydrogen-cooled floating cars anytime soon? Well, it's one possible future.

However, the level of restructuring our society needs for something on that level is absolutely mind-blowing. I mean, some nations are having trouble even adopting electric cars and their infrastructure needs; think about what's needed to magnetize and cool everything. Then, there are the environmental implications of such a shift.

So, I get it; it's a long way to the whole levitating car society deal, but what about actual hoverboards and more of them? Why aren't there more of these buggers lying around? Heck, if I were some millionaire or billionaire baby, I'd scoop one of these up in no time.

For that answer, we just need to take a closer look at the entire system as a whole. You're going to need to create a manufacturing line for levitating boards and build entirely new skateparks to use them in. And, once all that's said and done, you'll need vats of liquid hydrogen near each of those parks to ensure that your superconductor board has enough juice to keep flying for as long as you want. That's got to be one expensive and awfully dangerous venture. But, as a concept, and one that actually works, I just can't get enough of this thing!