newman@fortune.UUCP (Steven Newman) (10/19/83)
As has already been mentioned, people (vertebrates in general) can survive *moderatly* long exposure to hard vaccumm. A surprisingly good coverage of this topic is in the unlikly source of a novel entitled "Space Doctor"(author unknown) where the term "vac-bite" is coined. Seems that the sub-cutanious oedema, and rupturing of the cappilaries causes a condition similar to frostbite! Steve Newman
decot@cwruecmp.UUCP (Dave Decot) (10/21/83)
How about the multiple occurences of messy exploding people in Outland? "Yep, they blowed up REAL good!" ---------------------------------------- Dave Decot ..!decvax!cwruecmp!decot
okie@ihuxs.UUCP (10/26/83)
While we're on the subjects of people exploding in vacuum *and* *2001*... In *2001*, there's a sequence where astronaut Bowman is unable to get back into the ship; HAL won't open the pod bay doors (#*$% AI machines!). Well, there's an airlock nearby, but in his rush to get outdoors, Bowman forgot his helmet (#*$% actors!). So this is the end, right? WRONG! Our Hero knows (he being an astronaut and all) that you can survive a short exposure to vacuum. So he manages to blow his way into the open airlock, get the door closed, and fill it with air before he does a good imitation of a puffer fish. In all, he was in vacuum for about 15 or 20 seconds -- but it seemed much longer (did any of you hold your breaths during that sequence?). It was a good tension-building scene. BThis was no accident; Clarke knew his stuff. In one of his earlier novels (*Earthlight*), he has a good treatment of this same subject. The crew of a crippled spaceship has to be taken onto another ship before its pile blows; but there aren't enough suits to go around. So the rest have to go over lines to the other ship (no hard-docking is possible)... B.K. (can I breathe now?) Cobb BTL Indian Hill Naperville, IL