Re: Jovian Chronicles GZG Adaptation

Excerpts from FT: 13-Nov-97 Re: Jovian Chronicles GZG A.. by Just c. n.
in denial@sts 
> So, just how long is 'for some time' in a vacuum? 10 seconds, 20 on
the
> outside? 15 seconds would be a long time to chew vacuum, and you're
not
> going to be in very good shape to do any suit patching. You'll lose
> consciousness rather quickly.

>From the sci.space.* FAQ, though admittedly a rather old copy:

 
    HOW LONG CAN A HUMAN LIVE UNPROTECTED IN SPACE
 
    If you *don't* try to hold your breath, exposure to space for half a
    minute or so is unlikely to produce permanent injury. Holding your
    breath is likely to damage your lungs, something scuba divers have
to
    watch out for when ascending, and you'll have eardrum trouble if
your
    Eustachian tubes are badly plugged up, but theory predicts -- and
animal
    experiments confirm -- that otherwise, exposure to vacuum causes no
    immediate injury. You do not explode. Your blood does not boil. You
do
    not freeze. You do not instantly lose consciousness.
 
    Various minor problems (sunburn, possibly "the bends", certainly
some
    [mild, reversible, painless] swelling of skin and underlying tissue)
    start after ten seconds or so. At some point you lose consciousness
from
    lack of oxygen. Injuries accumulate. After perhaps one or two
minutes,
    you're dying. The limits are not really known.

This has been expanded upon in the sci.space.tech newsgroup, I think,
but I haven't been able to find any of the expanded versions -- not to
mention a recent FAQ. <sigh>  Ah, well....

Later,

		    Aaron Teske
		    Mithramuse+@cmu.edu