Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"This is a predictive tool I've used: There are goals we've sought for ten thousand years, and we'll go on seeking them. Instant transport and travel, immortality (or at least longevity and miracle cures.), instant learning …"
- Larry Niven
 |
| 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...
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
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
| Crystalline Structures In Space, You Say? |
| Amazing Photonic Crystal Light Sail |
| The New Habitable Zones Include Asimov's Ribbon Worlds |
| Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again? |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.'
'... folios and tapes and playable discs of platinum alloy.'
'... another corner of his mind began to think about the shields.'
'Michel Ardan, as a Frenchman, was declared chief cook, an important function, which raised no rival.'
'Sapiro’s computer just kept dialing at random, hanging up on humans, until it got a fellow computer of the same type as itself.'
'I request that you feed the correlation between those dots and the levers of the panel into my memory banks.'
