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by chipotle on February 17th, 2007

chipotle

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What really does happen to the human body if exposed to the vacuum of outer space?. I have seen Sci-Fi movies that show different things happening, ie Veins popping, intantly freezing etc.

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  • by canadianhelper on February 17th, 2007

    canadianhelper

    Wiki has this well covered:

    Vacuum is primarily an asphyxiant. Humans exposed to vacuum will lose consciousness after a few seconds and will die within minutes, but the symptoms are not nearly as graphic as commonly shown in pop culture. Robert Boyle was the first to show that vacuum was lethal to small animals. Blood and other body fluids do boil (the medical term for this condition is known as ebullism) and the vapour pressure may be expected to bloat the body to twice its normal size and slow down circulation, but tissues are elastic and porous enough to prevent rupture. Ebullism is slowed by the pressure containment of blood vessels, so some blood remains liquid.[2][3] Swelling and ebullism can be reduced by containment in a flight suit. Shuttle astronauts wear a fitted elastic garment called the Crew Altitude Protection Suit (CAPS) which prevents ebullism at vacuums of 15 Torr (2 kPa).[4] However, even if ebullism is prevented, simple evaporation can cause the bends and gas embolisms. Rapid evaporation cooling of the skin will create frost, particularly in the mouth, but this is not a significant hazard.

    Animal experiments show that rapid complete recovery is the norm for exposures of fewer than 90 seconds, while longer full body exposures are fatal and resuscitation has never succeeded. [5] There are limited data available from human accidents, but they are consistent with animal data. Limbs may be exposed for much longer if breathing is not impaired. Rapid decompression can be much more dangerous than the vacuum exposure. If the victim holds his breath during decompression, the delicate internal structures of the lungs can be ruptured, causing death. Eardrums may be ruptured by rapid decompression, soft tissues may bruise and seep blood, and the stress of surprise will accelerate oxygen consumption leading to asphyxiation.[6]

    During World War II, the Nazi regime tortured concentration camp prisoners by exposing them to simulated high altitude conditions. See Nazi human experimentation.

    Some extremophile microrganisms can survive vacuum for a period of years, as can the Tardigrade.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum#Outer_space

    Comments

    • Thnx for your answer, but what about the coldness of outer space -273c or zero Kelvin. Would the body have time to expand before it snap froze?

      chipotle

      by chipotle on February 17th, 2007

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