The hoverboards have emerged as the trendiest technology of 2016 and the video blogger, TheBackyardScientist has built one of his self-designed hoverboards using the dry ice.
Typically, hoverboards are equipped with wheels, more like a hands-free scootie than an actual flying hoverboard. However, the YouTuber built a real hoverboard using nothing but dry ice and a wooden plank to float on.
The setup consists of a wooden plank resting atop three pieces of dry ice. And just like that, the hoverboard takes flight. Albeit the wooden plank rises a mere 1/10th of a millimetre, it still is a real hoverboard since it is not in contact with the surface at all.
The underlying phenomenon for this DIY dry ice hoverboard is quite simple. Dry ice, or frozen CO2, is a sublime substance implying that it is directly converted into vapors. As the wooden plank slides, the friction against the surface turns the ice back to carbon dioxide. Thus, the wooden plank is supported by a thin layer of carbon dioxide gas and loses its contact with the surface.
Check out the video demonstration of this DIY dry ice hoverboard below:
