In article ,
Chris Wood wrote:
If a person were suddenly placed in a vacuum, e.g.,
thrown out of a spaceship without a protective/pressure-ized
suit -- a la science fiction movies, would they really pop
like a balloon, or is this an exaggeration?

It's not merely an exaggeration, it's a myth. Animal experiments, one
test-chamber spacesuit accident, and the Soyuz 11 disaster demonstrated
decades ago that nothing much happens when a person is placed in vacuum.

The first event of note is that after 10-15 seconds, he suddenly loses
consciousness due to lack of oxygen. Some uncertain time later, perhaps a
minute, the accumulated brain damage from lack of oxygen is bad enough
that he's effectively dead. (If those numbers sound short, it's because
in most comparable accidents on the ground, there is considerable air left
in the lungs, and that makes a large difference.)

Serious physical damage from the lack of pressure takes rather longer than
that. The bodies of the Soyuz 11 crew spent perhaps ten minutes in
vacuum, and looked normal enough that the recovery team started CPR.
--
MOST launched 30 June; first light, 29 July; 5arcsec | Henry Spencer
pointing, 10 Sept; first science, early Oct; all well. |