Bringing us Closer to Back to the Future

Around two decades ago, the makers of ‘Back to the Future II’ dreamed of a 2015, a millennia where dress styles were tacky and lives were techy. The bling teens of the future also hovered around in a board, strange must say 2015 has turned out to be the year when actual hoverboards are making their real life debut.

It's Toyota's luxury division Lexus that's risen - or rather hovered - to the challenge. It has, for the past couple of days, been breaking the internet with a series of promotional videos teasing audiences with its plans for the hoverboard called ‘Slide’ (the latest video, which includes an endorsement by professional skateboarder Ross McGouran).

Now, there are reasons why we are trusting the ‘Slide’ might be the actual thing that will work, coming closer on the heels of the Hendo hoverboard, a Kickstarter campaign promising 10,000 hoverboards to the shipped out this year, and a much-hyped hoverboard by ‘Huvr Tec’ that turned out to be a spoof .

Inside the Slide

The Slide uses magnetic levitation, or maglev, to keep itself (and its rider) hovering above the ground, according to the company's website, which states that the board relies on "liquid nitrogen cooled superconductors and permanent magnets" to operate.

Because it uses superconductors, which are materials that can conduct electricity with zero resistance below a certain temperature, Lexus' hoverboard is slightly different from other maglev technologies, such as the super-high-speed maglev trains in Japan, China and other countries. Maglev trains are lifted off their tracks and propelled forward by conventional electromagnets (a type of magnet with a magnetic field created by an electrical current). The electromagnets are located under the train's carriage and are repelled by other magnets embedded in the train track. The interaction between the two sets of magnets is what allows the train to defy the force of gravity and stay "afloat" in the air.

However, the superconductors in Lexus' hoverboard work a bit differently. They produce a powerful electrical current when cooled to a certain temperature, and the strong electrical current that the magnet produces in turn creates a strong magnetic field that repels the magnetic field created by other magnets that might be located nearby. This repelling force is what keeps the hoverboard in the air.

“To keep the superconductors inside their hoverboard working, the folks at Lexus, cool them to frigid temperatures using liquid nitrogen. In the YouTube video, you can see a white, smoke like substance pouring out of the hoverboard. This is water condensation, or fog, produced when liquid nitrogen hits the air around the superconductor,” according to Live Science.

However, fans who are hoping to take a ride on the Slide will probably have to wait much longer. There’s no word on whether the hoverboard will go on sale — if ever — and “it only works on metallic surfaces,” according to Engadget. That means you’ll have to take more conventional transportation to parties that will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of ‘Back to the Future’ on October 21.