crm@duke.UUCP (11/09/83)
According to Clarke in (I think) View from Serendip, the experiment has been tried with animals, and the current record was held by a dog which survived several MINUTES! -- not to mention that he also mentions a rumor that at least one human lab tech had also been (accidentally) exposed without serious damage. Also, long ago I read in National Geographic about a guy who was testing pressure suits and lost pressure in a glove at 100,000 feet... he got a tremendous hickey but no embolism. Remember that the pressure difference is only 10-33 feet of water! The skin can handle that for some time, so the pressure drop in the bloodstream is much smaller. Charlie ...!duke!crm