3 ms·

This kind of illustrates that it's not that your blood boils or anything crazy like that, but rather that without external pressure, your body relies on your sq

This kind of illustrates that it's not that your blood boils or anything crazy like that, but rather that without external pressure, your body relies on your squishy flesh to hold the internal pressures in check. So you'll get a full-body hickey/swelling and the bends (though deep sea divers can, of course, suffer far worse since their internal pressure can be multiple atmospheres). If you've any exposed mucus membranes, expect them to off-gas and to start to freeze on the surface. But all that takes time to really set in, so you've got a minute or so before you're really hurt. By that time, your real problem is simply that you've stopped breathing, which turns out to be a big deal. Remember: vacuum is first and foremost an asphyxiant! (Re asphyxiant, here's my favorite story on the topic: http://www.sciforums.com/threads/vacuum-pockets-and-safety-nazis.41446/ http://www.sciforums.com/threads/vacuum-pockets-and-safety-n... )

TeMPOraL 11y ago
RE your favourite story, I'm just waiting for someone with experience in this topic to point out here that vacuum pockets are actually a real thing under some conditions, and even maybe that those "safety nazis" were actually justified. Hanging out on HN I've seen many cases where something derided by people turns out to actually be true. :).
artmageddon 11y ago
> By that time, your real problem is simply that you've stopped breathing, which turns out to be a big deal. A really hypothetical scenario: but suppose for a moment an astronaut's is floating around, the suit has ripped open, oxygen within it is pretty much at nil, and unable to return in time. Would it be possible to bring a breathing apparatus(i.e. small oxygen tank) out to the astronaut to keep him/her breathing a bit longer?
- prodigal_erik 11y ago
  You can live on a partial pressure of about 0.15 atm of oxygen. Less than that and your blood will lose oxygen as it passes through your lungs. So the tank works if the pressure is high enough.
RogtamBar 11y ago
>By that time, your real problem is simply that you've stopped breathing, which turns out to be a big deal. With some training holding your breath for 3 minutes is doable for anyone, and the record is something like 8-9 minutes..
- davesque 11y ago
  According to the article, holding your breath in a vacuum is not wise.
- HCIdivision17 11y ago
  You're right, but one of the main issues is that you probably don't have enough strength in your lip muscles and throat to keep the air in without outside pressure. A single ATM of pressure is easy to leak, and your body is undergoing some real nasty expansion problems; As the sibling commenter notes, too, holding your breath is likely dangerous, as your internal chest cavity may not be able to apply enough compressive force to hold the air in. (And microscopically your lung will try to inflate excessively, leading to internal bleeding, I think.) There's a really cool idea for a spacesuit that's basically just a fabric wet suit that's just really compressive (via electromuscles or cinched bands or w/e). That way your body gets the ability to hold onto the gas in your lungs without the risk of your lungs attempting to expand out your gut and throat. It's an interesting idea though: what if you could train your abdomen and chest to compress a lung full of air in a vacuum? Then you just gotta keep your mouth and nose shut somehow. (It'd be really difficult - it'd take a force like trying to inflate a car tire with your mouth. Possible, but seems hard.)

TeMPOraL 11y ago

RE your favourite story, I'm just waiting for someone with experience in this topic to point out here that vacuum pockets are actually a real thing under some conditions, and even maybe that those "safety nazis" were actually justified. Hanging out on HN I've seen many cases where something derided by people turns out to actually be true. :).

artmageddon 11y ago

> By that time, your real problem is simply that you've stopped breathing, which turns out to be a big deal. A really hypothetical scenario: but suppose for a moment an astronaut's is floating around, the suit has ripped open, oxygen within it is pretty much at nil, and unable to return in time. Would it be possible to bring a breathing apparatus(i.e. small oxygen tank) out to the astronaut to keep him/her breathing a bit longer?

prodigal_erik 11y ago
You can live on a partial pressure of about 0.15 atm of oxygen. Less than that and your blood will lose oxygen as it passes through your lungs. So the tank works if the pressure is high enough.

RogtamBar 11y ago

>By that time, your real problem is simply that you've stopped breathing, which turns out to be a big deal. With some training holding your breath for 3 minutes is doable for anyone, and the record is something like 8-9 minutes..

davesque 11y ago
According to the article, holding your breath in a vacuum is not wise.
HCIdivision17 11y ago
You're right, but one of the main issues is that you probably don't have enough strength in your lip muscles and throat to keep the air in without outside pressure. A single ATM of pressure is easy to leak, and your body is undergoing some real nasty expansion problems; As the sibling commenter notes, too, holding your breath is likely dangerous, as your internal chest cavity may not be able to apply enough compressive force to hold the air in. (And microscopically your lung will try to inflate excessively, leading to internal bleeding, I think.) There's a really cool idea for a spacesuit that's basically just a fabric wet suit that's just really compressive (via electromuscles or cinched bands or w/e). That way your body gets the ability to hold onto the gas in your lungs without the risk of your lungs attempting to expand out your gut and throat. It's an interesting idea though: what if you could train your abdomen and chest to compress a lung full of air in a vacuum? Then you just gotta keep your mouth and nose shut somehow. (It'd be really difficult - it'd take a force like trying to inflate a car tire with your mouth. Possible, but seems hard.)