crm@duke.UUCP (10/15/83)
I thought the space-walk-without-helmet trick was old hat by now... Admittedly, surviving in space without a helmet is not possible for very long, but it isn't as traumatic as Michael Bishop's question would make it. After all, assuming the Discover used sea-level pressure (not a good assumption -- the partial pressure of O2 might be higher and the total pressure lower, to reduce pressure-vessel structural strain/stress) any way, assuming 14.7 psi, that's only the pressure differential of 33 feet of water: SCUBA divers change pressure that much without thought. Admittedly, one could get the bends, but that takes a hell of a lot longer than a second. Also, the thought that space is COLD is simply wrong -- there ain't nothing there to be cold with! To quote Heinlein: "If vacuum is cold, how does a thermos bottle keep hot things hot?" Heat loss in space is simply by radiation -- and humans are too light colored to lose heat very fast that way. (I wonder if a black loses heat any faster...) Finally, there is experimental evidence: NASA tried exposing animals to vacuum:the longest surviving (that I've heard of) was about 3 minutes. (I've also heard rumors that at least one human has been accidentally exposed toa fairly hard vacuum in an Earthside lab -- has anyone heard more about this?) Charlie Martin ...!duke!crm