French troops might have a better chance in the Battle of Agincourt against England when they are unencumbered by heavy armor. A study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, mid-July 2011, showed that soldiers who wear armor in medieval times had to spend twice as much power than not wearing it.
The study provides the first experimental evidence that really shows that the metal protective clothing that restrict the performance of soldiers. During the war, the troops must wear a metal plate, which weighs 30-50 pounds. Clothes are meant as a protector of the body of the enemy's weapon is possible is one of the factors that determine whether a troops win or lose in battle.
"We found that the load-carrying scattered throughout the body needs energy far greater than the carrying backpack weighs the same," said the study's lead researcher, Dr Graham Askew, of the Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds. "When wearing armor, limbs burdened with heavy, meaning it took more effort to swing the foot when walking."
Experts assisted the Royal Armouries in Leeds, a joint team of researchers from several universities in Leeds (England), Milan (Italy), and Auckland (New Zealand) was tested replicas of four different types of armor from Europe. They tested the ability of people ran and walked while wearing armor and measure the use of oxygen by mask respirometry to determine how much energy is used.
The study showed that people who wear armor had to take many short breaths. "Wrapped in a tight armor makes soldiers feel safe," said Dr Federico Formenti of the University of Auckland. "But you can not breathe when it started moving around in that armor, and this will limit the endurance of soldiers to fight." *** [SCIENCEDAILY | UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS | KORAN TEMPO 3607]
