Hoverboards: why they haven't got off to a McFlying start
by Dave Hall from Technology | The Guardian on (#3T7T4)
The gadgets inspired by Back to the Future Part II's floating skateboards have failed to deliver
We could start by saying "they" didn't promise us hoverboards. People want hoverboards because they saw one in the disappointing sequel Back to the Future Part II . But that doesn't mean people haven't tried to make them. Like other colourful retrofuturist fantasies, hoverboards were a lustmotif that spoke to a whole generation in the way that flying cars and jetpacks did to baby boomers.
Problem No 1: how would this thing hover? We have four choices: some type of thrust, a cushion of air, maglev or magic.
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