![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
You are in: Sci/Tech | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]()
|
![]() |
Wednesday, 5 July, 2000, 15:29 GMT 16:29 UK
Petrol-powered boot lifts off
Roman Kunikov says his fancy footwear will give people a flying start, propelling them as much as four metres (13 feet) per step. The boots were tested on Tuesday in a public square in Ufa, a town 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) southeast of Moscow. Professor Kunikov believes that, as well as being fun, the shoes could be used by rescue services to reach quickly areas inaccessible to vehicles with wheels. Quick mover Tuesday's test showed that wearers could achieve speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph), he said. The fastest sprinter at the Sydney Olympics will not surpass 37km/h (23 mph)
The metal plate is connected to the sole of the shoe by springs, so it snaps back into place after each step. The shoes weigh about one kilogram (2.2 pounds) each, and include a fuel tank, tiny carburettor, spark plug together with associated wires and pipes. Market driven The carburettor can be adjusted to take account of different people's weights.
He is at the Ufa Aviation Technical University which used to work on defence contracts for the Soviet Union, including design projects for the MiG fighter jets. But when defence budgets dried up after the 1991 Soviet collapse, the university, like hundreds of factories and institutes across Russia, began looking for ideas with value in a capitalist economy.
|
![]() |
See also:
![]() Internet links:
![]() The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Sci/Tech stories now:
![]() ![]() Links to more Sci/Tech stories are at the foot of the page.
![]() |
![]() |
Links to more Sci/Tech stories
|
![]() |
![]() |
^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |