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Earlier this year, Lexus pissed off the internet.
A maddeningly short video, bedecked in shiny lighting and slow motion pan shots, teased a "working" hoverboard. The 30th anniversary of Back to the Future was apparently being marked with the arrival of a technology we never thought possible.
The sceptics formed an orderly queue in the comment boxes, declaring it fake and little more than a PR stunt. They were sort of right.
This is the latest video of the Lexus hoverboard - so aware of its importance that it mashes up drones with a BTTF pond-skimming reference. "The Lexus Hoverboard is here!" it exclaims, as trendy types glide about a skate park. Except it isn't an ordinary skate park. It can't be. Because the hoverboard only works with magnets.
This is how Lexus explains its technology: "The hoverboard is constructed from an insulated core, containing HTSLs (high temperature superconducting blocks). These are housed in cryostats - reservoirs of liquid nitrogen that cool the superconductors to -197°C. The board is then placed above a track containing permanent magnets.When the board is cooled to its operating temperature the track’s magnetic flux lines are ‘pinned’ into place, maintaining the hover height of the board."
So, if you've got yourself a skate park filled with magnets and a backpack filled with liquid nitrogen (which we hope you haven't), then the Hoverboard is indeed a reality.
Except it's not for sale.
