VOA慢速英语2014 Hoverboards Ignore Gravity

 

Hoverboards Ignore Gravity

Can you imagine riding around the streets of your hometown on a skateboard without wheels? In the late 1980s, film director Robert Zemeckis showed a skateboard floating above the ground in his movie Back To The Future Part II.

Now, an American company, Arx Pax, has moved the idea for such a device from a futuristic dream to reality. The new product operates on the same rules that govern magnetism².

When similarly charged ends of two magnets get close together, they repel³ or push away from each other. That force can make an object levitate⁴ or hover¹ in space.

Since the 1980s, levitation⁵ has been used on trains in Europe, Japan and China. These maglev⁶ trains, seem to float above the ground. There is no contact between the bottom of the cars and the surface of the train track. Maglev trains are almost noiseless and can move very fast.

Greg Henderson says the same technology can make anything hover, even buildings.

“Imagine there's an earthquake and the early warning turns on the warning systems and the supports fall away as the building starts to hover. The shaking stops, the supports return, and no one in that room or in that building ever knew there was an earthquake."

Greg Henderson’s company created the first maglev hoverboard, called Hendo. It can hold a single person about 2.5 centimeters above a metal surface.

"We are creating a magnetic field, and then through a method of induction⁷, that's part of our secret sauce*, we are creating a secondary and equal magnetic field in this conductive surface."

Batteries provide the electricity needed to power Hendo's four engines. However, the batteries only last for a short time. But design engineer Kyle O'Neil says they last long enough for experienced skateboarders to learn how to control the hoverboard.

“Some people say it's like snowboarding. Some say it's how they imagined a hoverboard is supposed to be, which is kind of an interesting response because no one's ever ridden one before.”

Words in This Story

hover – v.  to float in the air

magnetism -  n.  the property of attracting certain metals; the attracting property of a magnet

repel - v. to force (something) to move away or apart

skateboard – n. a short board that is on wheels and that a person stands on to move along a surface or to perform tricks

1 hover   

vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫

参考例句：

• You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。
• A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。

2 magnetism   

n.磁性，吸引力，磁学

参考例句：

• We know about magnetism by the way magnets act.我们通过磁铁的作用知道磁性是怎么一回事。
• His success showed his magnetism of courage and devotion.他的成功表现了他的胆量和热诚的魅力。

3 repel   

v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥

参考例句：

• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。
• Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。

4 levitate   

v.升在空中

参考例句：

• I often dream that I can levitate.我经常梦想我能够飞起来在空中飘浮。
• The guru claimed that he could levitate.这位宗教领袖声称他能够浮在空中。

5 levitation   

n.升空，漂浮；浮起

参考例句：

• We are particularly interested in phenomena such as telepathy and levitation. 我们对心灵感应及空中漂浮这样的现象特别有兴趣。 来自辞典例句
• This paper presents a magnetic levitation system control using the gain-scheduling controller. 本文以增益程序控制器针对磁浮系统进行控制。 来自互联网

6 maglev   

n.磁力悬浮列车；adj.磁力悬浮列车的

参考例句：

• The engine for maglev trains is rather in noticeable.磁悬浮列车的车头是相当值得注意的。
• The high speed maglev railway is a new-style traffic system. 高速磁悬浮铁路是一种新型的交通方式。

7 induction   

n.感应，感应现象

参考例句：

• His induction as a teacher was a turning point in his life.他就任教师工作是他一生的转折点。
• The magnetic signals are sensed by induction coils.磁信号由感应线圈所检测。