4 ms·

>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 minute

• 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.)