Cool and clever trump common sense and normal physics in this levitating record turntable, which aims to bring a vintage technology into the future.

Mag-Lev Audio wants to push audio technology in a new (vertical) direction, creating an “uplifting experience of music” in the form of the world’s first floating record player.

The device, the creators claim, not just about a look, but also the ability to “maintain the incredibly precise turning of the platter with sensor regulating software. Air is the smoothest medium with least amount of friction, which further elevates this project into a truly unique listening experience.”

Feet support the spinning platter when it is not in use while stored-up power can bring the system to a comfortable stop and lift the needle in case of an outage (instead of it dropping the floating disc uncontrolled).

The makers boast the simplicity of the system: “pick a favorite record; turn the turntable on; move the tone arm into position; and lower the cueing lever; then let the smart-record player do the rest.”

A series of LED lights and digital displays lend the entire setup an air of cyberpunk futurism as well, reinforcing the ambient aesthetic created by the floating form of the disk. Whether this approach will take off remains to be seen, but the gadget has already raised enough money on Kickstarter to make it happen.

Taking bonsai approaches to the next level, a Japanese company based out of Kyushu has raised over half a million dollars so far for its levitating (and rotating) tree system.

The fauna in question span quite a range, from flowering plants to pine trees to mosses. The magnetic levitation tech supports up to 250 grams of whatever species you prefer (up to a few inches in width), powered via a simple AC adapter.

Of course, you can further decorate your little floating worlds however you like, with ceramic figures, lava rocks or other scene-setting touches.

The system comes as a DIY kit priced starting at around $200, depending on whether you wish to get both the mechanical system and a starter plant or just the technology portion. There are also both modern and traditional-looking, hand-crafted bases, depending on your aesthetic preferences.

The creators of the world’s first working hoverboard have turned their sights toward larger-scale projects, patenting a three-part hovering foundation system to defend houses in earthquake- and flood-prone areas facing threats from natural disasters. The basic idea: decouple buildings from the ground temporarily, isolating them from unwanted movement happening below and around them.

Arx Pax, based in Silicon Valley and the creators of the Hendo Hoverboard using Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA), designed this new approach to floating homes during emergencies, using a buffer medium over a construction platform. Their physical technologies will be connected to ShakeAlert, an automatic warning software developed in part by the University of California, Berkeley and the U.S. Geological Survey.

“The ShakeAlert program aligns well with our long-term vision,” said Greg Henderson, co-founder and CEO at Arx Pax. “Weaving ShakeAlert into our MFA seismic isolation solution provides a valuable new tool to architects, engineers, and developers who are looking for a better way to build in areas affected by earthquakes. Our goal is to eliminate structural movement by pinpointing the exact time an object or building’s ‘landing gear’ should retract and activate the hover engines.”

Currently, many large buildings already have countermeasures to protect them from strong winds or earthquake forces, but few small structures can afford similar protections. Arx Pax hopes to make similar approaches cost-effective for individual houses and lower buildings in general, raising them up in the face of floodwaters or shaking ground.

In addition to helping homeowners, Arx Pax sees applications for this technology for places including surgical operating rooms where stability is essential or laboratories, server farms and other spaces with sensitively calibrated equipment.

Twenty-five years after ‘Back to the Future’ convinced an entire generation that we’d soon be able to zoom around the city on wheel-less floating skateboards, it looks like we might finally get our wish: a working hoverboard actually exists. The Hendo Hoverboard, currently blazing past its funding goals on Kickstarter, features four disc-shaped hover engines that create a magnetic field to levitate the board off the ground.

Naturally, there’s a catch: it only works on certain metallic surfaces. The creators are currently using non-ferromagnetic conductor sheet metal, but are working on new compounds that could increase performance while minimizing cost. The magnetic field created by the board levitates it an inch above the ground, offering an ultra-smooth ride that you just can’t get on wheels.

“While one day we expect to have hoverboards that can effortlessly float over any medium (even water!), our current technology requires special types of surfaces,” says Hendo. “Therefore, we need a hoverpark to go with our boards, and have been busy designing a park befitting the awesomeness of our technology.”

In addition to snagging a ‘Whitebox’ developer kit that enables you to play around with the technology yourself, Kickstarter rewards include reserving a brick-sized piece of the eventual Hoverpark with your name engraved onto it. The first 10 production Hendo Hoverboards have already been snagged at $10,000 each.

After all the hoaxes, it’s understandable that people are skeptical – but Gizmodo got to actually give it a try, confirming that it works. Check it out in the video above, and get all the technical details at Kickstarter.

Building on the strategy of the Roosevelt Island Tramway (connecting to Manhattan over the East River), this proposal promises record commuting times, bypassing subways, streets and ferries to use the sky instead.

The East River Skyway project aims to make the jump between Boroughs faster, cleaner, safer and cheaper, all while reducing the load on the subway system, already packed to more than capacity under the ground below.

The design proposal calls for an initial connection between Williamsburg and and Lower Manhattan, followed by extensions deeper into Brooklyn and, ultimately, links to Queens and Long Island City as well.

Beyond the ultra-fast transit time boasted by the system there are some non-financial considerations as well: tourists and locals alike can also take the tram (as they already do to and from Roosevelt Island) in part simply to get a better view of the city from above.

Its designers cite other major international cities deploying and contemplating similar initiatives, from Singapore to London, England and  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.