Magnetic boots

Last updated

Magnetic boots are boots that are magnetic, which allows them to attach to the ferrous floor or hulls of a spacecraft during weightlessness, and presumably would allow someone to walk around the cabin of a spacecraft.

Contents

Use by astronauts

Magnetic boots have not yet been used in actual space flight. Astronauts on the International Space Station use foot straps to stand in place at workstations or on exercise equipment. [1]

Use in science fiction

Although many science fiction works assume some type of artificial gravity or use rotation to "create" gravity, magnetic boots still feature for purposes of exterior repairs or in emergency situations.

Magnetic boots were notably used in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country to stage a surprise attack by disabling the artificial gravity on a ship and so providing a tactical advantage to attackers wearing them. The investigation of who had access to magnetic boots featured prominently in the plot. Other Star Trek depictions include Star Trek: First Contact where the crew battle cyborgs on the hull of the ship and Star Trek: Enterprise where they are used for hull repairs.

Such boots were featured in The Adventures of Tintin comic Explorers on the Moon , to prevent the characters from floating around in the cabin if the artificial gravity failed.

The Celestial Voyages historical science fiction series by Jeff Provine uses magnetic boots as the main sense of balance in its Edwardian starships.

In the Ratchet & Clank series , one of the gadgets is a pair of "Magneboots", which are used to traverse special ventilation shafts in the first installment of the series Ratchet & Clank . Though in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando and later, the Magneboots were replaced with the Gravity Boots, allowing one to walk up special vents and surfaces, to jump and walk like normal, and also to use weapons and other gadgets.

In 2010: Odyssey Two , it is stated that Soviets view artificial gravity as a luxury, and as such their vessel the Alexi Leonov features very limited artificial gravity. The crew uses magnetic shoes to easily walk around the ship. Magnetic shoes are a running theme of the series and are used by crews of small Pan Am shuttles as well.

In the novel and television series The Expanse , characters frequently use magnetized boots to keep themselves upright when not using thrust acceleration to simulate gravity.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Star Trek fictional universe contains a variety of weapons, ranging from missiles to melee. The Star Trek franchise consists mainly of several multi-season television shows and a dozen movies, as well as various video games and inspired merchandise. Many aspects of the Star Trek universe impact modern popular culture, especially its fictitious terminology and the concept of weaponry on spacecraft. The franchise has had a widespread influence on its audiences from the late 20th to early 21st century. Notably, Star Trek's science fiction concepts have been studied by real scientists; NASA described it in relation to the real world as "entertaining combination of real science, imaginary science gathered from lots of earlier stories, and stuff the writers make up week-by-week to give each new episode novelty." For example, NASA noted that the Star Trek "phasers" were a fictional extrapolation of real-life lasers, and compared them to real-life microwave based weapons that have a stunning effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Force field (technology)</span> Fictional technology or superpower

In speculative fiction, a force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, energy bubble, or deflector shield, is a barrier made of things like energy, negative energy, dark energy, electromagnetic fields, gravitational fields, electric fields, quantum fields, plasma, particles, radiation, solid light, or pure force. It protects a person, area, or object from attacks or intrusions or even deflects energy attacks back at the attacker. This fictional technology is created as a field of energy without mass that acts as a wall, so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the field and reach the other side, instead being deflected or destroyed. Actual research in the 21st century has looked into the potential to deflect radiation or cosmic rays, as well as more extensive shielding.

Runabout (<i>Star Trek</i>) Small starships/large shuttles in the sci fi franchise

Runabouts are a fictional class of small, multi-purpose starships appearing in the Star Trek science-fiction franchise, primarily the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which aired on syndicated television between 1993 and 1999. They served as a means of transport for the crew of the fictional space station Deep Space Nine, in the early seasons of the series enabling storylines taking place away from the station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Escape pod</span> Capsule or craft used to evacuate base or vehicle in case of emergency

An escape pod, escape capsule, life capsule, or lifepod is a capsule or craft, usually only big enough for one person, used to escape from a vessel in an emergency. An escape ship is a larger, more complete craft also used for the same purpose. Escape pods are ubiquitous in science fiction but are only used in a few real vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artificial gravity</span> Use of circular rotational force to mimic gravity

Artificial gravity is the creation of an inertial force that mimics the effects of a gravitational force, usually by rotation. Artificial gravity, or rotational gravity, is thus the appearance of a centrifugal force in a rotating frame of reference, as opposed to the force experienced in linear acceleration, which by the equivalence principle is indistinguishable from gravity. In a more general sense, "artificial gravity" may also refer to the effect of linear acceleration, e.g. by means of a rocket engine.

Earth Spacedock is a fictional space station orbiting Earth in the Star Trek universe, designed originally by David Carson and Nilo Rodis of Industrial Light and Magic in the 1980s. It is large enough to contain several starships of that fictional universe, and in real life the Spacedock consisted of a series of sets, miniatures, and designs that were used for various films and television shows in the 1980s and 1990s. Written spacedock, it is first seen in the 1984 film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and subsequently in the fourth, fifth, and sixth Star Trek movies.

Shuttlecraft are fictional vehicles in the Star Trek science fiction franchise built for short trips in space, such as between a planetary surface and orbit. Also referred to as shuttles, their introduction preceded the development of the Space Shuttle.

<i>Ratchet & Clank</i> (2002 video game) 2002 video game

Ratchet & Clank is a platform video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 in 2002. It is the first game in the Ratchet & Clank series.

A space dock is a hypothesised type of space station that is able to repair or build spacecraft similar to maritime shipyards on Earth. They remove the need for new spacecraft to perform a space launch to reach space and existing spacecraft to make an atmospheric entry and landing for repair work. They currently only exist in fiction, however concept work has been undertaken on real space dock facilities that could be built with current technology.

"Timescape" is the 151st episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the 25th episode of the sixth season.

"The Disease" is the 111th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the 17th episode of the fifth season. It focuses on a plot with Harry Kim as USS Voyager encounters a unique civilization on an extremely large starship.

<i>Ratchet & Clank</i> Series of platform video games

Ratchet & Clank is a series of action-adventure platform and third-person shooter video games created and developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation consoles, such as PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5, with the exclusion of Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank, which were developed by High Impact Games for the PlayStation Portable. The series was exclusive to Sony platforms until Rift Apart received a Windows port in 2023. Despite this however, the intellectual property is still owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. An animated feature film adaptation was released on April 29, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotating wheel space station</span> Space station concept

A rotating wheel space station, also known as a von Braun wheel, is a concept for a hypothetical wheel-shaped space station. Originally proposed by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1903, the idea was expanded by Herman Potočnik in 1929.

<i>Discovery One</i>

The United States Spacecraft Discovery One is a fictional spaceship featured in the first two novels of the Space Odyssey series by Arthur C. Clarke and in the films 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) directed by Stanley Kubrick and 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984) directed by Peter Hyams. The ship is a nuclear-powered interplanetary spaceship, crewed by two men and controlled by the AI on-board computer HAL 9000. The ship is destroyed in the second novel and makes no further appearances.

<i>Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time</i> 2009 platform video game

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time is a 2009 platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the seventh main installment in the Ratchet & Clank series and the third in its Future saga. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 in North America on October 27, 2009, in Australia on November 5, 2009 and in Europe on November 6, 2009.

The Star Trek franchise features many spacecraft. Various space vessels make up the primary settings of the Star Trek television series, films, and expanded universe; others help advance the franchise's stories. Throughout the franchise's production, spacecraft have been depicted by numerous physical and computer-generated models. Producers worked to balance often tight budgets with the need to depict convincing, futuristic vessels.

<i>Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus</i> Platform video game

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus is a 2013 platform video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the eighth main installment in the Ratchet & Clank series and the fourth and final installment in its Future Saga. The series is noted for the inclusion of exotic and unique locations and over-the-top gadgets, elements of the traditional Ratchet & Clank experience that return in this game.

<i>Ratchet & Clank</i> (2016 video game) 2016 video game

Ratchet & Clank is a 2016 platform video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. The game is a tie-in of the 2016 film of the same name, as well as a remake of the first game in the series. The game was originally planned to be released in 2015, but was delayed, along with the film, to April 2016 in order to give the film a better marketing campaign and the game additional polish time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space travel in science fiction</span> Fictional methods, e.g. antigravity, hyperdrive

Space travel, or space flight is a classic science-fiction theme that has captivated the public and is almost archetypal for science fiction. Space travel, interplanetary or interstellar, is usually performed in space ships, and spacecraft propulsion in various works ranges from the scientifically plausible to the totally fictitious.

References

  1. "Something bizarre happens to your feet when you spend months in space". Business Insider .