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"[Science fiction] is the only kind of writing that allows you to look at the world we live in and change one piece at a time."
- Frederik Pohl
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| Flexible Sprung Boots | ||
| Boots designed to be flexible when walking, but upon a hard step, will have a spring characteristic. |
| Hunt noticed the soles of the boots were surprisingly thick.
“Sprung interior,” Danchekker supplied, following his gaze. “What’s that?” “It’s quite ingenious. The mechanical properties of the sole material vary with applied pressure. With the wearer walking at normal speed, the sole would remain mildly flexible. Under impact, however, for example if he jumped, it assumes the characteristics of a stiff spring. It’s an ideal device for kangarooing along in lunar gravity, utilizing conditions of reduced weight but normal inertia to advantage. |
| Technovelgy from Inherit the Stars,
by James P. Hogan. Published by Del Rey in 1977 Additional resources -
|
Compare to space-boots from The Passing of Ku Sui (1932) by Anthony Gilmore, magnetic boots from Salvage in Space (1933) by Jack Williamson, 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 and the grip shoes from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) by Arthur C. Clarke.
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More Ideas
and Technology from Inherit the Stars
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Tech news articles related to Inherit the Stars
Tech news articles related to works by James P. Hogan
Flexible Sprung Boots-related
news articles:
- Sole Morphing Astronaut Boots - A New Pair Of Moon Boots?
| Cislunar Space And The Space Lanes of Golden Age Fiction |
| NASA Moonbase Update |
| The Solar Oberth Slingshot |
| 'If Anyone Is Watching Earth...' |
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'The dinner was excellent. It was completely vegetarian — grown in specially prepared gardens in this Moon base...'
'Telepaths had their sensitiveness enlarged to an immense range by the pin-sets, which were telepathic amplifiers adapted to the mammal mind.'
'It was a relief to enter one of the comfortable autos, whisper a direction down the tube, and just know that you would be taken to your destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest manner.'
'But he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts. George winced...'
'The vast spinning sphere of Factory in the Sky loomed above and ahead of us, gleaming white against the unfathomable jet depths of surrounding space.'
'And if it doesn’t work,' inquired Lazarus, 'what does that make us? Sunspots?'
'The Dillard people had performed a miracle and put all the works in a girl-modeled case.'
'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'
