>From: hal@finney.org
>Reply-To: extropians@extropy.com
>To: extropians@extropy.com
>Subject: Re: gas powered shoes
>Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 13:48:29 -0700
>
>I wish people would give a little more content than a URL, as it
>makes it easier to talk about:
Ok, sorry about that.
>
>Zeb writes:
> > http://www.msnbc.com/news/429240.asp
>
> MOSCOW, July 5 - His fashion sense isn't as elegant as Gucci's, but
> Roman Kunikov says his gasoline-powered boots are a step forward in
> footwear - as much as 13 feet per stride.
>
> KUNIKOV IS ONE of the professors at a Russian engineering institute
> who designed the boots that were tested Tuesday in a public square in
> Ufa, 750 miles southeast of Moscow. The test showed that wearers can
> achieve speeds of up to 25 mph, Kunikov said in a telephone interview.
> The boots incorporate one-foot pistons that strap along the calf and
> fire downward after the wearer steps down, pushing a metal plate away
> from the bottom of the shoe - and the wearer up into the air.
>
> The shoe works in a rhythm with the wearer's step. As he steps down,
> his body weight resets the piston, which then fires and pushes him
> on his way. The plate is connected to the sole of the shoe by metal
> rods that work as shock absorbers. The shoes use ordinary gasoline,
> Kunikov said.
>
>These sound like fun, if they could be mass produced. It would be
>great to be able to run along at 20+ mph with these pistons hurtling you
>forward with each stride. Imagine entering the local road race wearing
>these things and running rings around the winners (of course your results
>would not count).
It kind of reminds me as an inspector gadget type contraption. When I read
it, the first thing that came to mind was someone like the joker using them
to run away from batman. Imagine the brutally comic things that could go
wrong, like landing on a poodle, or in a manhole.
The best application - use them during a Lunar or Mars mission. You would
certainly be able to make more then 13 feet/stride in the low gravity
environment. You could fit several of them in the same volume as a rover,
and probably go almost as fast. You'd want to use something other then
gasoline - maybe hydrogen oxygen interaction. Is calcium/oxygen interaction
strong enough?
You'd want to test them in a cratered, rock litered environment.
>
>Probably would never happen though, too hard to make them safe.
The article said there has never been an accident.
>
>Reading this reminded me of an old product from the 70s, the gasoline
>powered pogo stick. Kind of a similar idea, each time you came down the
>piston fires and shoots you back up. Always sounded like a bumpy ride
>though.
>
>Hal
---------------------------------------------------
Zeb Haradon (zebharadon@hotmail.com)
My personal webpage:
http://www.inconnect.com/~zharadon/ubunix
A movie I'm directing:
http://www.elevatormovie.com
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