Effects of a Vacuum: What Happens if Exposed?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the physiological effects of human exposure to a vacuum, particularly in the context of space. Participants explore various aspects of this phenomenon, including comparisons to decompression sickness, the potential for bodily harm, and references to popular media portrayals of vacuum exposure.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that exposure to a vacuum could lead to an explosive outcome due to internal pressure, although they express uncertainty about this claim.
  • Another participant compares vacuum exposure to decompression sickness, noting potential effects like exploded lungs and nitrogen bubbles in the blood.
  • A different participant questions whether the lack of pressure would result in an explosive reaction, suggesting a more nuanced understanding of the effects.
  • Reference is made to a source indicating that a person could remain conscious for about 10 seconds in a vacuum and potentially survive for about 90 seconds with full recovery.
  • Some participants discuss the accuracy of vacuum exposure portrayals in films like "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Red Dwarf," with one noting a specific scene's timing as impressive.
  • Another participant mentions that holding one's breath during explosive decompression could lead to eardrum damage and lung injury, but that serious effects like boiling blood take longer to occur.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the effects of vacuum exposure, with no clear consensus on whether the outcome is explosive or not. The discussion includes both speculative and technical perspectives, indicating ongoing uncertainty and debate.

Contextual Notes

Some claims rely on assumptions about human physiology under vacuum conditions, and there are references to varying interpretations of fictional portrayals of vacuum exposure. The discussion does not resolve the complexities of these physiological responses.

Sociopath^e
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What happens if a human was to be a immediately exposed to a vacuum, such as that in space? from what i understand they explode, due to the internal pressure having nothing to balance its force... but i may be wrong
who here knows the answer?
 
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Kinda like the bends (decompression sickness). Since the depth corresponding to 2 atmospheres pressure is approximately 10 meters below water's surface, the same effect (exploded lungs, nitrogen bubbles in the blood...) might occur to a diver immediately brought above water from there.

In the case of a vacuum, blood would find any opportunity to escape the body. I was lucky to survive.
 
hmm, so a kinda Anti-Bends
but nothing explosive then from the lack of pressure?
 
ah, well i was wondering if 2001 did it right, or Red Dwarf... (although it is silly trying to compare physics out of fiction)
 
Originally posted by Sociopath^e
ah, well i was wondering if 2001 did it right, or Red Dwarf... (although it is silly trying to compare physics out of fiction)

I timed Bowman's Emergency Hatch Entrance scene in 2001 on Laserdisk about four months ago after reading an article similar to the one Janus provided a link for.

From the moment the hatch of the pod opens to the moment Bowman pushes down a lever in Discovery to close the hatch on Discovery and initiate re-pressurization, it spanned about 9 seconds. Right on the money. I was impressed.
 
Last edited:
2001

IIRC, the producers went to great lengths to get the Bowman sequence right. And Clarke would certainly have done his homework as he wrote the book.
 
It's important to remember that Clarke was trained as an engineer and some of his earlier stories turn on technical points ("Perturbation Theory" for example. It's nice to remember that that phrase and technique had a prehistory in celestial mechanics before the quantum field people got hold of it).
 
If you hold your breath and experience an explosive decompression, you'd probably blow your eardrums and maybe damage your lungs, but other than that, it takes longer for the bad things like boiling blood to happen.

Remember, pressure is pretty much pressure and 1 atmosphere is 35 feet of water - and people free dive deeper than that, taking only a few seconds to get there.
 

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