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I’m not talking about those fake and expensive hoverboards, you know, the ones that blow up. I’m talking about Back To The Future magic. Meet the Flintstones wizardry. Wildest dreams, flying through the sky hoverboards. But with science. So, again we’ll have to know how a hoverboard might work. First, we need to know a little more about magnets. Each magnet has a north and south pole each north pole will attract to a south pole and vise versa. Therefore they repel each other when they try to put north or south sides together. This happens because of magnetic fields, caused by half shell electrons, which is a different essay. Magnetic atoms are most atoms. When these “magnetic” atoms find that uses less energy to a line a certain way it creates a magnetic substance, that has a magnetic field. They have to align based on their magnetic fields, north poles corresponding with south poles. Thus, when a magnet comes in contact with a magnetic field from the same type of pole they repel each other that are strong enough to overcome the forces of gravity. This action creates a floating barrel magnet or a force you can feel.
At first, I didn’t have a barrel magnet so I assumed using multiple small rectangular prisms would work because the north pole is always opposite the south pole; so if the north and south poles are together the same poles will be down so it will repel. The problem is there isn’t enough surface area to account for the extra weight. There is also the issue of it being a rectangular prism, so the other sides are attracted to the sides of the magnet repelling. I also basically did this project with no directions so at first, I planned to use my second example as a barrel magnet and almost went through with it when I realized the sides have their own poles and the cardboard would just pivot and connect that way. In the end, you read what I decided on. So if it is so easy to use this technology, why hasn’t anyone? Well, someone has. During my research, I stumbled upon the Hendo Hover company and their parent company Arx Pax. I was immediately intrigued by Hendo because they seemed very personable, they had the family portrait-style picture of their employees. There were pictures of the co-owners Greg and Jill Henderson hence the name Hendo. Then, I found a “contact us” page, so I had to at least try to talk to some intern or computer automated message.
So, I sent a message saying “I'm demonstrating a homemade hoverboard and sharing how your company and hoverboards, in general, can make a difference. I have a few questions. If you feel inclined to answer it would be greatly appreciated. “ I didn’t really expect an answer especially not the one I got. It was a personable, not computer automated message from Jill Henderson herself! Saying “we are focused on our mission and why we started Arx Pax: To save lives, protect communities & property from floods, earthquakes, and rising sea levels with our patented SAFE Foundation System (Self Adjusting Floating Environment).” I was thrilled when she responded and was so interested in me and my project. Hendo is an amazing company as she said while they did patent a “magnetic field architecture”, which is extremely marvelous in the ways they are expanding the horizons of our reality especially through their optimistic worldview and how they plan to improve our current world. Even that is based on their previously mentioned SAFE Foundation System. An entirely other innovative and genius piece of technology that doesn’t apply here, no matter how much I would love to explain how for lack of a better term, but seeing as there is no word as far as I know to describe innovative, genius and optimistic this technology, and the company is. You may be wondering about the real implications. So far we have those train things. But, there is another type of hoverboard to explore. Air-pressure. So, I built one of those too. You can see how to build your own down below. The hovercraft has a main body or craft if you will of plywood, the dimensions of the wood is four feet by four feet with a width if one-half inch. The main reason the hoverboard actually hovers is that of the skirt, which needs to be securely fashioned by many things. I used a shop-vac piece that blows out air to inflate the skirt, and when there is enough air-pressure it makes the board rise until its inflated enough to carry weight. Air pressure is created when Earth's gravity exerts a force on air molecules. The force of gravity causes this air to exert a pressure on the surface. Contrarily when you create enough opposing force you can create a force that is stronger than gravity, thus defying gravity.
With this hoverboard, we need to test more shapes. It wasn’t very aerodynamic, so it moved pretty slowly. It needed to be plugged in, I talked to some people who knew of some small generators that could be used. Because of the size, it was pretty hard to maneuver, I tried a lot of different strategies and you can row if you have something with rubber on the end, you can kind of use it like a skateboard and you can have your dog pull you. Also, I did try the tennis ball back to the future thing and it didn’t really work.
These hoverboards are important because as our environment is getting more and more polluted by vehicles, we need an alternative way to travel. My essay itself can’t solve pollution, it can’t even solve car pollution, but it can get people, especially young people thinking about the future, it can call attention to Arx Pax, and other like-minded companies. Mostly, it can educate me. Even though building my own bike or skateboard would have educated me, not everyone can use them and it wouldn’t be as effective to educate others nor will they probably change the way we view the future, thus this project is the best option. Hoverboards will help car pollution, they will intrigue people and I have confidence they will positively impact the future, the way we think about future. Currently most importantly, as I said it could really affect the environment. The environmental effects would improve so much because although the air pressure hovercraft currently uses electricity, magnetic hoverboards cost much less to make and don’t use electricity, they also have a much smaller carbon footprint that is essentially just when it’s made. Thus these are great alternative modes of transportation, that could really help solve our problem of car pollution.
How To Build a Magnetic Hoverboard
I then looked online and decided that the only way to obtain the correct magnets would be to order them online, and then even though I really wanted to work on it right away I had to wait for magnets to arrive. Once they did I decided to experiment and play with how they repel each other and decided to create a model that replicates how a hoverboard would work so any viewers can feel the magnets working. To make the model I just used hot glue to glue the magnets onto the cardboard. With the same poles facing out. I then realized that while with the demonstration you can feel it you can’t see it or imagine an actual hoverboard, so I again brainstormed how to visually demonstrate it after a couple. I decided to make a visual representation, at first I tried to use restraints to try and make a hovercraft that wouldn’t fly away, but my magnets were too strong to just repel up so it would repel to the side as well. Originally I planned to make a hole in the original craft and run a wooden dowel through it but I realized if it wasn’t too heavy all together, there wouldn’t be enough magnet power especially to support the weight of the cardboard in between the magnets, I decided to use barrel magnets. I went to get my supplies a wooden dowel, two barrel magnets, a household magnet I already had and hot glue because after experimenting for a while I was out. With the right materials, I used them to create a wooden dowel with a cardboard base and then strung some barrel magnets on them. When the magnet barely rose I added another magnet we happened to have, but I soon discovered the plastic covering was prohibiting the power of the magnet so I had to claw it off, which is difficult because I don’t use plastic, wood and paper break, and it is a magnet so metal tools are very difficult to use because of the magnetism. With the deconstructed more powerful magnet I glued on my barrel magnet and my shortened dowel and strung on my other magnet facing the opposite direction facing the others.
Air Pressure Hoverboard
I researched every way a hoverboard can be built, I looked at magnetic hoverboards, which is much more likely to be developed enough for popular use in the future, but it would need a magnetic surface to use so I researched and thought it was important to acknowledge when I talked about hoverboards but it wasn’t plausible for me to use and ride so I decided on making an example of it and building a hoverboard using air pressure to actually ride. I planned out my design process and looked at hoverboards others have built and found my final design. I then went to many appliance stores and found the perfect products to make my hoverboard. I then talked to my shop teacher to let me borrow his tools and brought my wood into him. I drilled a hole in the center 5/16 inch diameter hole for the nuts, bolts, and washers that will be used later. I drilled a hole an inch and half diameter for the shop-vac tube. I rounded the corners using a jigsaw. I then hauled everything out of shop and into my basement which proved to be rather difficult. I cut the plastic wrap five feet by five feet and laid my wood on top of it. I folded the plastic wrap onto the wood, tight but no so that there was pressure on the plastic wrap, being very careful on the corners. I took a stapler which was more strenuous as I expected because I didn’t have a staple gun, about every four inches and two on the corners I stapled. I added duct tape on all the edges of the plastic down, again being very careful on the edges. I traced and cut six two-inch holes for airflow far enough apart so the plastic won’t rip but they won’t be closed by the ground if they are too far away from the coffee lid. Then poked a hole that lines up with the 5/16’’ hole in the center. I took shears to the plastic lid and folded it in half and made two slits large enough to hold in the screw. I strung the screw through the hole and added fender washers to both sides of the disc. I added a nut on the opposite side of the wood. I used a Phillips head screwdriver to fasten the screw and screw on the nut, and the lid to the screw. I used duct tape to create a better seal in the hole then added a layer connected to the wood. I propped up the corner with the hole. I plugged in the extension cord in and switched on the tube. Then you can just step up and you’re ready to attempt to balance your weight.