What would happen to a human body exposed to space without a spacesuit?

[kalidas1992]

I always wonder about our human body in space without any suits. I don't know exactly what happens but i want to know which has been a interesting question to me right from my past.
What will happen when a human body is exposed to space without any space suits?

 

[sophiecentaur]

It didn't seem to do Sandra Bullock any harm in 'Gravity'!

See this link. for some good information.

 

[SteamKing]

If you don't blow up, you'll get a good tan.

 

[adjacent]

See this

 

[tinypositrons]

If you had air in your lungs, you would instantaneously explode. Otherwise, your blood and all the water in your body would boil (due to low pressure not temperature). Also, the temperature (in Earth's magnetosphere) fluctuates between approximately -150 and 250 degrees centigrade. A word of advice, don't try this at home.

 

[sophiecentaur]

If you had air in your lungs, you would instantaneously explode. Otherwise, your blood and all the water in your body would boil (due to low pressure not temperature). Also, the temperature (in Earth's magnetosphere) fluctuates between approximately -150 and 250 degrees centigrade. A word of advice, don't try this at home.

This is not likely. The time to take for your cabin / suit to decompress would be long enough to let air out of your lungs non-explosively unless you were deliberately trying to hold your breath. The scenario of lung damage due to holding breath is possible in submarine escapes - but the training makes it second nature to breathe out. I don't think the breath holding reaction would occur when not actually under water. But, in any case, the pressure inside would only be 1At (less in a spacecraft , I believe). It could rupture a few blood vessels etc. but the main issue would be hypoxia setting in after a couple of minutes.