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>If Earth had no air, this wouldn’t be an issue (though there would be other uncomfortable consequences). They don't mention in the article what those 'uncomfo
by didgetmaster 3y ago
>If Earth had no air, this wouldn’t be an issue (though there would be other uncomfortable consequences).
They don't mention in the article what those 'uncomfortable consequences' are, but if you asked the average person what would happen if all the air around the earth suddenly disappeared, they would say 'we would all suffocate'. This is of course true, but we would likely succumb to the effects of suddenly being exposed to the vacuum of space before we died from the lack of oxygen.
Having a scuba mask and tank on when the air disappeared would not prolong your life at all. Air pressure is something we tend to take for granted if we are not climbing Everest or in an airplane.
- topherclay 3y agoIf you genie-wished the atmosphere away in one instant, I wonder what type of explosion the oceans would do as the new at atmosphere emerges, from the gases and liquids that didn't count as atmosphere before suddenly find a new equilibrium.
- mormegil 3y agoThis is exactly the kind of question Randall Munroe answers in his What If <https://what-if.xkcd.com/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/>. Unfortunately, this specific one seems not to be answered there?
- ajkjk 3y agoWell they would boil instantly, basically. Presumably the result would be a lot like the old atmosphere, just... mostly water?
- avar 3y agoEven if we had no oceans (or other bodies of water, or ice) we'd instantly get a new atmosphere from the resulting vacuum-induced outgassing.
- manwe150 3y agoTo be a bit pedantic, the dangerous effect of the vacuum of space is the lack of oxygen and rapid suffocation, apparently within seconds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_spaceflight_on_the_human_body#Vacuum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_spaceflight_on_the_h.... The other effects (like ebullism and freezing/overheating/sunburn come "much" later in minutes).
- jowea 3y agoThere's a few more Wikipedia pages on the theme, and it seems the weirder effects of decompression are more fictional exaggerations than fact. Lack of oxygen incapacitates in something like 10-15 seconds. > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_spaceflight_on_the_human_body#Vacuum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_spaceflight_on_the_h... > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_11 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_11 > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncontrolled_decompression#Exposure_to_a_vacuum_causes_the_body_to_explode https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncontrolled_decompression#Exp...
- duvalig 3y ago> Air pressure is something we tend to take for granted if we are not climbing Everest or in an airplane. Or dive towards the wreck of the Titanic.