Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: Werta68 on 26/05/2007 22:36:29

Title: IN open space whitout spacesuit
Post by: Werta68 on 26/05/2007 22:36:29

What exactly will happen to me if I will go to open space without a spacesuit?
1-  I will die because there is no pressure and my blod will start boil.
2- I will die because there is no oxygen
3-I will die because my body temperature will decrease rapidly (how fast?)

Am I correct?Thanks

Title: IN open space whitout spacesuit
Post by: Kryptid on 27/05/2007 00:26:19

I've done research on this topic before. Humans don't explode in space and their blood does not boil. Blood is already under pressure simply by being in the blood vessels. Other tissue fluids will evaporate, however, and cause a person to swell to around twice their normal size. However, human skin is strong enough to keep a person from exploding during this process. A person can stay conscious in a vacuum for around 10 seconds, but I think that time is reduced if the person is startled (and therefore uses up more oxygen).

Oxygen loss is ultimately what kills you, in around 5 minutes, I think. Yes, outer space is ice-cold but the lack of surrounding gases means that the human body cannot dissipate heat via conduction like on Earth. The major form of heat loss in space is due to direct radiation of infrared waves from the human body. Thus, a person would cool relatively slowly. However, the mouth area may cool much more rapidly as saliva evaporates into the vacuum, carrying heat away with it.

Holding your breathe in space is a bad idea. Since there is no external pressure to counteract the internal pressure of air in your lungs, you risk damage to your respiratory system.

Here's further info:
http://www.sff.net/people/Geoffrey.Landis/vacuum.html (http://www.sff.net/people/Geoffrey.Landis/vacuum.html)

Title: IN open space whitout spacesuit
Post by: Volcano Girrrl on 29/06/2007 12:44:42

Hey Guys,

This is being featured as "Question of the Week" the question was aired in last week's show and its going to be answered in this week's show so listen out for some expert responses.

Title: IN open space whitout spacesuit
Post by: Titanscape on 29/06/2007 13:08:36

Cool.

I imagine it would hurt. Talk about ears popping!

Also microwaves in the brain...

Title: IN open space whitout spacesuit
Post by: syhprum on 29/06/2007 13:14:19

I understand NASA did animal experiments using Chimpanzees to collect this data.

Title: IN open space whitout spacesuit
Post by: lyner on 05/07/2007 23:56:51

The brutes!