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"Human beings hardly ever learn from the experience of others. They learn; when they do, which isn't often, on their own, the hard way."
- Robert Heinlein
 |
| Magnetic Boots | ||
| Special footgear holds spacemen to the metal deck in spite of the lack of gravity. |
This is the earliest reference that I know about.
| Aggar Ho smiled sadly. "Perhaps," he said, and then, after a pause, "Thank you, my boy." He tramped wearily up the spiral stairs, his magnetic boots which served to hold him to the steel floor in the absence of gravity making a clattering noise. |
| Technovelgy from Atomic Fire,
by Raymond Z. Gallun. Published by Amazing Stories in 1931 Additional resources -
|
Jack Williamson makes great use of this idea in his splendid 1933 classic Salvage in Space:
This handy idea can be found in Inhuman Error, a clever 1974 Fred Saberhagen short story published in Analog:
Compare to space-boots from The Passing of Ku Sui (1932) by Anthony Gilmore, antigrav boots from The Day We Celebrate (1941) by Nelson S. Bond, magnetic shoes from The Dual World (1938) by Arthur K. Barnes,
Steel-Lined Space Boots from Roamer of the Stars (1938) by Clyde Wilson, the neutronium slippers from Revolt on the Tenth World (1940) by Edmond Hamilton, space socks from Lost Rocket (1941) by Manly Wade Wellman, the weight shoes from The World With A Thousand Moons (1942) by Edmond Hamilton, magnetic sandals from The Warriors (1966) by Larry Niven, magnetic-soled shoes from Space Tug (1953) by Murray Leinster, the grip shoes from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) by Arthur C. Clarke and the flexible sprung boots from Inherit the Stars (1977) by James P. Hogan.
His "planet" was the smallest in the solar system, and the loneliest, Thad Allen was thinking, as he straightened wearily in the huge, bulging, inflated fabric of his Osprey space armor. Walking awkwardly in the magnetic boots that held him to the black mass of meteoric iron, he mounted a projection and stood motionless, staring moodily away through the vision panels of his bulky helmet into the dark mystery of the void.
('Salvage in Space')
He swung his legs to put his magnetic boots against the lounge's soft floor, so that they held him lightly to the steel deck beneath...
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Atomic Fire
More Ideas
and Technology by Raymond Z. Gallun
Tech news articles related to Atomic Fire
Tech news articles related to works by Raymond Z. Gallun
Magnetic Boots-related
news articles:
- Can Musk Starship Astronauts Use Magnetic Boots?
- Four-Legged Robot With Magnetized Feet Climbs Walls
| SETI Suggests Prospecting The Solar System Without Landing |
| Cislunar Space And The Space Lanes of Golden Age Science Fiction |
| NASA Moonbase Update |
| The Solar Oberth Slingshot |
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'The answer to the dumb student's prayer.'
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'But he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts. George winced...'
