評論
打印
Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile barrier in 1954 with help from a couple of pacers, runners he closely followed till his final sprint. Sixty years later just about anyone could set a personal mile record—with help from a couple of jet engines strapped to their back.
1954年，在若干位領跑者（田徑員緊跟到最后沖刺的人）的幫助下，羅杰·班尼斯特成功突破了1英里4分鐘的大關。六年后，如果將若干個噴氣式發動機綁在背后的話，幾乎任何人都能打破這一英里賽跑記錄。
The U.S. military wanted to find a way to help soldiers hoof it through hostile territory at high speeds without getting exhausted. They turned to Arizona State University’s Human Machine Integration Laboratory. Engineers there came up with an 11-pound battery-powered backpack with two electric engines. The engines spin at about 60,000 RPM, producing about 15 pounds of instantaneous thrust.
美國軍方試圖找到一個能使士兵高速穿過敵方領土而不至筋疲力盡的方法。他們向亞利桑那州立大學的人機一體化實驗室求助。那兒的機械師們設計了一個背包，該背包重11磅，靠電池充電，配備著兩個電動引擎。該引擎每分鐘轉動6萬次，大約能夠產生15磅的瞬間推力。
The researchers see the backpack as an alternative to outfitting soldiers with exoskeletons, which would have to be tailored to fit the individual soldier. The same jet backpack could be worn by anyone with few adjustments.
科學家將該背包作為身著外骨骼的士兵的備用物品，并為每個士兵量身定制。同樣，噴氣背包經過稍微調整后，任何人都可以穿。
The pack has yet to produce a sub four-minute miler, although one runner did trim 18 seconds off his best time. Of course, that guy wasn't running through a desert wearing 50 pounds of gear. Still, no one in a hurry would turn down a portable tailwind.
該背包還創造出又一個能夠突破1英里4分鐘大關的人，盡管跑步者確實將最短時間縮短了18秒。當然，該跑步者并沒有穿著50磅的裝備跑步穿過沙漠。不過，沒人會急著拒絕這樣一個便攜式“順風跑鞋”。
