Special Repelling Magnet Shoes

[OmCheeto]

1. Only a magnet can repel a permanent magnet, so you would need magnets on the track.
2. Stability would be a problem and the system would almost certainly flip you over on your back, painfully.
3. This effect would have to give a reasonable 'cushioning effect', over a distance of several cm. This could require seriously powerful magnets which would, even with the sexy new magnets available, involve a lot of weight. A spring to achieve the same thing would be much lighter and cheaper and would also be safer.

[Edit: that will teach me to read all the posts and you can disregard my point 1. The rest is ok though ]

Well, let's replace your point 1, with my point 4:

4. The equations don't work at shoe scale distances

You're welcome. And when it comes down to it, if I don't have the supplies lying around my house, and it's going to cost more than $20 to build, I always do the math first.

Also, the equation is obviously not valid for magnets that are extremely close to each other. As when the distance approaches zero, the repulsion tends towards infinity. And I know that is not correct, as I can with just a bit of effort, push two of my neodymium magnets together.
(1/8" length, 5/16" diameter)

At one micron separation, my magnets, according to the equation, should have a repulsion of about 190,000,000 Newtons*, which is a bit more than my thumb and index finger are capable of I'm sure.

*What is 190,000,000 Newtons equivalent to? The first stage of the Saturn V rocket had a thrust of only 34,000,000 Newtons. So a 190 megaNewtons is a lot!

So what do you do when the maths don't work?

I would do the experiment, and try and determine a curve fitting function for force vs small distances, but my magnets are too small to control, in a kitchen lab.

I did though do an experiment just now, with some 200 gram, 1970's era speaker magnets. I discovered that they were so weak, that when I placed one above the other, gravity won.

I did another experiment where my neodymiums floated in a plastic tube about 4 cm above the speaker magnets. I used a bamboo skewer to push the neo's down towards the speaker magnet. At around 5 millimeters, the repulsion was lost, and the neo's slammed into the speaker magnet.

hmmm... This is starting to look ugly on the human mass jumping shoe scale. And that's just the thoughts in my head. Just imagine what happens when you do the math.

hmmm... I wonder if Phil Knight had to put up with this negativity when he developed his air sole technology.

Its been over a year since I had thought of this idea and I had to revive this old topic to generate new discussion on my shoes. (no pun intended)

The reason why I revived this topic is now I have money to invest in a prototype pair to see if they do in fact work, and how the best effective way of doing so.

Just do it.

 

[B4ssHunter]

to those talking about the law of conservation of momentum , its true that the momentum is conserved , but he is using magnets in the shoes to transfer his downward momentum into an upward momentum
instead of pushing on Earth and pushing it down , the magnets will push him up with that same momentum . just like a spring .

 

[A.T.]

Someone suggested earlier that it would be just like springs. I think it would be a bit different, as springs are linear, and magnets are not, in their force vs distance equations:

Many shoes have air cushions which are also non linear. The only difference from using magnets is that the shoes will be very heavy, and jumping will be no fun at all.

 

[Human268]

Great idea

I accidentally saw this post and I have been planning the same project. I wonder if you have had any success? Although you are not creating new energy using these magnets, I think the springlike effect of opposing magnets could lead to greater energy efficiency in running. There are a lot of details that would need to be fine tuned - ie.. Magnetic strength, proper positioning and encasement for stability..etc. let me know if you are interested in collaboration

 

[CWatters]

Carbon fibre springs have already been used for a similar application :-). I suspect they are somewhat lighter.

 

[alionalizoti]

Magnetic and gravitational

This may also work for artificial gravity, whenever needed!

 

[OmCheeto]

I accidentally saw this post and I have been planning the same project. I wonder if you have had any success? Although you are not creating new energy using these magnets, I think the springlike effect of opposing magnets could lead to greater energy efficiency in running. There are a lot of details that would need to be fine tuned - ie.. Magnetic strength, proper positioning and encasement for stability..etc. let me know if you are interested in collaboration

It appears that the original poster has not been back in about a year, and it appears no one else was interested in the idea, so it would appear that you are on your own. You might want to check out my response to a "Magnetic Bumpers" question. It has an equation, and numbers.

Uh oh. He never showed up again either.

This may also work for artificial gravity, whenever needed!

Is there an intermittent problem with natural gravity where you live?

It is a fun thing to think about though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iiXUeil5fQ​

and such beautiful music.

ps. wiki claims that magnetic boots are not used in real space ships.

 

[Human268]

The problem I'm running into as you may have guessed is that the weight and strength of the magnets required to produce any significant displacement of an average human body are prohibitive. The n52 magnets would be dangerously strong, and the negative effect of much heavier shoes may outweigh the benefits of the springlike effect. I still might tone it down and try it for fun.

 

[alionalizoti]

Magnetic shoes

A simple schema would help people to better understand with your idea, although it is clear.
It won't be that easy to produce something like this, and don't forget specific switches onon/offoff !

 

[pridupicre]

It's been a while since the last post in this thread but I thought it was interesting that someone is actually trying to pitch this exact concept in a crowdfunding campaign.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/20-16-moonwalker-the-shoes-that-defy-gravity

Repelling neodymium magnets - basically an adult version of Moon Shoes. I do wonder whether it works well at all, since despite their claims of having a prototype, there's no video footage of them actually being used. Which usually suggests everyone's lofty imagination would be brought heavily back to Earth if they actually saw them in action.