From: hal@finney.org
Date: Thu Jul 06 2000 - 14:48:29 MDT
I wish people would give a little more content than a URL, as it
makes it easier to talk about:
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).
Probably would never happen though, too hard to make them safe.
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
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