Humans and Vacuum.

Warspite · Post by **Warspite** » 2002-12-31 06:21pm

I'm writing a sci-fi story, and I've come up with a scene, where one bad guy traps the good guy in depressured hangar, on a spaceport. The good guy's partner comes to it's rescue with only a breather mask (like th ones used by firefighters, only more advanced, since it doesn't need the oxygen bottles). Now, here's the question(s):

Can a human being survive near vacuum for less than 30 seconds?
Will it survive for another 30 seconds with only a breather mask?

(Oh, and a Happy New Year...)

SeebianWurm · Post by **SeebianWurm** » 2002-12-31 06:23pm

In a vacuum. humans that were not in protected pressurized suits would explode - the internal pressure would remain the same, and push outward without any air or matter to push back.

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2002-12-31 06:26pm

humans wont EXPLODE.

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_a ... 70603.html

read this, warspite. To answer the question about the mask, no, you wont survive for long. Even with oxygen, your blood still forces its way out of your skin, your heart still fails, and your vessels still rupture.

Sir Sirius · Post by **Sir Sirius** » 2002-12-31 06:29pm

Human Exposure to Vacuum

SeebianWurm · Post by **SeebianWurm** » 2002-12-31 06:36pm

You can thank leprechaun 4 for that bit of misinformation.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2002-12-31 07:22pm

If you underwent a rapid decompression, all the air in your lungs would force itself out. If you had just taken a deap breath, this would probably hurt. However, it will not make you explode as seen in the movies. All the air in your digestive tract would also shoot for daylight. Also, if there are any tiny air pockets within your dental work, they could cause your fillings to explode. Very quickly, and I mean in less than about three seconds, you would feel the effects of hypoxic hypoxia. Oxygen will not pass through your cell membranes, and your time of usefullness conscience will have been up. Your brain would still be alive for a few more minutes, and you may be slightly awake for a few more seconds, but you would be unable to do anything.

Enlightenment · Post by **Enlightenment** » 2002-12-31 07:25pm

Warspite wrote:Will it survive for another 30 seconds with only a breather mask?

Using breathing masks in vacuum will result in lung rupture. Needless to say this is a bad thing.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2002-12-31 07:25pm

Wicked Pilot wrote:If you underwent a rapid decompression, all the air in your lungs would force itself out. If you had just taken a deap breath, this would probably hurt. However, it will not make you explode as seen in the movies. All the air in your digestive tract would also shoot for daylight. Also, if there are any tiny air pockets within your dental work, they could cause your fillings to explode. Very quickly, and I mean in less than about three seconds, you would feel the effects of hypoxic hypoxia. Oxygen will not pass through your cell membranes, and your time of usefullness conscience will have been up. Your brain would still be alive for a few more minutes, and you may be slightly awake for a few more seconds, but you would be unable to do anything.

Do you feel fucked up afterwards? I seem to recall that you said you underwent a catastrophic pressure-loss simulation once.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2002-12-31 07:36pm

Darth Wong wrote:Do you feel fucked up afterwards?

We took some precautions against that. One of the things we did was to breath pure oxygen for about 30 minutes before we went to alititude in the chamber. That way, almost all the Nitrogen would be out of our bloodstream so as to not risk decompression sickness. Also, we were all screened beforehand for physical issues such as sinus congestion or previous SCUBA activity that could fuck us up during the training. And last, after our chamber flight was over, we were instructed to refrain from things such as alcohol or physical exercise for the next 24 hours. I had a small headache for about an hour after the flight, but that's very minor compared to what can happen. One of our instructors, a Master Sargeant, told us a story about how he got the bends after one flight. It didn't sound fun.

Post by **weemadando** » 2002-12-31 09:19pm

Decompression would be like a massive pulmonary embolysm combined with a supremely bad case of the bends as well as the potential for truly nasty clotting due to obstruction via air-bubbles.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2002-12-31 09:44pm

'The Bends'?

Post by **weemadando** » 2002-12-31 10:11pm

HemlockGrey wrote:'The Bends'?

Decompression sickness. What happens to us SCUBA divers when we decide to ascend too quickly.

Nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream (well, amongst other bubbles, but nitrogen is the main problem with the bends). These bubbles suddenly increase in size as pressure decreases and can no longer be breathed back out of the body because they are too big to move into the alveoli by osmosis. They tend to clump at joints and cause excrutiating joint pains and involuntary contortions, hence the name, the bends. They also may come out through the skin causing a rash. This is in addition to the problems of the bubbles suddenly expanding so much that they block off capilleries.

That is why decompression stops are a GOOD THING.

But Nitrogen at depth is your friend. Once you get past about 25m or so the nitrogen turns toxic, effectively turning into "laughing gas". While at depth you will feel like your stoned, just light-headed, happy etc. You get used to it, but its still fun. The moment you go above that depth you're fine. No side effects. Though there was the case of a guy giving his B.C, occie and tank to a fish, because he thought the fish needed it more than he did...

GrandMasterTerwynn · Post by **GrandMasterTerwynn** » 2002-12-31 11:06pm

Warspite wrote:I'm writing a sci-fi story, and I've come up with a scene, where one bad guy traps the good guy in depressured hangar, on a spaceport. The good guy's partner comes to it's rescue with only a breather mask (like th ones used by firefighters, only more advanced, since it doesn't need the oxygen bottles). Now, here's the question(s):

Can a human being survive near vacuum for less than 30 seconds?
Will it survive for another 30 seconds with only a breather mask?

(Oh, and a Happy New Year...)

Sure a human can survive in a vacuum for thirty seconds. Unfortunately, said human will lose consciousness after ten, among other assorted nasty effects.

Warspite · Post by **Warspite** » 2003-01-01 07:44am

Thanks for all the input.
Damn, one good dramatic sequence into the trash!

Hell, I'm going to drown my sorrows in champagne! (Possibly, a new ideia can come up with it... Hum, this drinking bussiness is fun...

)

UltraViolence83 · Post by **UltraViolence83** » 2003-01-15 10:59pm

hey if you were on a spaceport, and you stabbed this guy horribly in the gut, and pushed him out an airlock, would his intestines fly out of the wound?

i'm a sadistic little fuck.

UltraViolence83 · Post by **UltraViolence83** » 2003-01-15 11:19pm

That reminds me of a true story:

YUK!
A 64 year old woman with colon cancer kept returning to hospital with
an infection around her stoma (the hole where the tube from her
colostomy bag is inserted). There was also a mysterious whitish ooze
emanating from it. After eventually inquiring into her private life,
the doctors found out that she led an active sex life. "And," she told
them, "when we're feeling really energetic, my husband gets his kicks out of
removing the bag and using my stomah!"

from http://axis.jeack.com.au/~jed/sick.htm (i don't know how to make it a link yet...too lazy to read faq)

UltraViolence83 · Post by **UltraViolence83** » 2003-01-15 11:20pm

Ahh...i see it's an automatic process.

Post by **Beowulf** » 2003-01-15 11:32pm

*ugh*

/me shoots everyone who posted recently...

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-01-16 01:25am

UltraViolence83 wrote:That reminds me of a true story:

YUK!
A 64 year old woman with colon cancer kept returning to hospital with
an infection around her stoma (the hole where the tube from her
colostomy bag is inserted). There was also a mysterious whitish ooze
emanating from it. After eventually inquiring into her private life,
the doctors found out that she led an active sex life. "And," she told
them, "when we're feeling really energetic, my husband gets his kicks out of
removing the bag and using my stomah!"

from http://axis.jeack.com.au/~jed/sick.htm (i don't know how to make it a link yet...too lazy to read faq)

*vomits on keyboard* UltraViolence83, you owe me 1 keyboard!

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-01-16 11:21pm

Well, that was the most disgusting thing I've heard in a long time.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-01-16 11:23pm

gah, the goggles do nothing.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2003-01-16 11:37pm

neoolong wrote:gah, the goggles do nothing.

I second that. *queasy*

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2003-01-17 02:13am

UltraViolence83 wrote:That reminds me of a true story:

YUK!
A 64 year old woman with colon cancer kept returning to hospital with
an infection around her stoma (the hole where the tube from her
colostomy bag is inserted). There was also a mysterious whitish ooze
emanating from it. After eventually inquiring into her private life,
the doctors found out that she led an active sex life. "And," she told
them, "when we're feeling really energetic, my husband gets his kicks out of
removing the bag and using my stomah!"

from http://axis.jeack.com.au/~jed/sick.htm (i don't know how to make it a link yet...too lazy to read faq)

Jesus FUCKING Christ!!! Oh man...I can still see it. Goggles don't exist which would do anything...

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-01-17 02:17am

Yep...goggles...ah hell...they weren't going to anything anyways

Oh yeah and when I think I've heard sick...someone shows me how little one truly will not do.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2003-01-17 07:18am

UltraViolence83 wrote:That reminds me of a true story:

YUK!
A 64 year old woman with colon cancer kept returning to hospital with
an infection around her stoma (the hole where the tube from her
colostomy bag is inserted). There was also a mysterious whitish ooze
emanating from it. After eventually inquiring into her private life,
the doctors found out that she led an active sex life. "And," she told
them, "when we're feeling really energetic, my husband gets his kicks out of
removing the bag and using my stomah!"

from http://axis.jeack.com.au/~jed/sick.htm (i don't know how to make it a link yet...too lazy to read faq)

Ahh the joy of Self-Administered www.Rotten.com , www.ConsumptionJunction.com , www.StileProject.com , and www.PortalofEvil.com -inflicted desensitization training!

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Humans and Vacuum.

Humans and Vacuum.

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