What if a person goes into space. What will happen in outer space without a spacesuit

The science

Modern cinema and fantasy books about space often confuse us, presenting many facts distorted. Of course, you can’t believe everything that you see on the screen or read on the Internet, but some delusions are so firmly entrenched in our minds that it’s hard for us to believe that in reality everything is somewhat different.

For example, what do you think will happen if a person is in outer space without a spacesuit? Will his blood boil and evaporate, will he develop into small pieces, or maybe he will turn into a block of ice?

Many believe that the Sun is a ball of fire, Mercury is the hottest planet in the solar system, and space probes were sent only to Mars. How are things really?

A man in space without a spacesuit

Myth #1: A man without a space suit will explode in outer space.

This is probably one of the oldest and most widespread myths. There is an opinion that if a person suddenly finds himself in outer space without a special protective suit, his just tear it apart.

There is logic in this, because there is no pressure in space, so if a person flies too high, he will inflate like a balloon and burst. However, in fact, our body is not at all as elastic as a balloon. We can't be torn apart in space, because our body is too elastic. We may get a little bloated, it is true, but our bones, skin and other organs are not so fragile that they burst into pieces in an instant.

In reality, several people have been exposed to incredibly low pressure during their work in space. In 1966, an astronaut was testing a space suit when a depressurization occurred at altitude. over 36 kilometers. He lost consciousness, but did not explode at all, and later fully recovered.

Myth #2: A person without a space suit will freeze in outer space.

This misconception is fueled by many movies. In many of them, you can see a scene in which one of the heroes is outside the spaceship without a spacesuit. He is right there starts to get cold, and if it stays in outer space for a certain time, it will simply turn into an ice. In reality, everything will happen exactly the opposite. In outer space, you will not get cold at all, but overheat.

Myth #3: Human blood will boil in outer space

This myth stems from the fact that the boiling point of any liquid is directly related to the ambient pressure. The higher the pressure, the higher the boiling point and vice versa. This happens because it is easier for liquids to turn into gases when the pressure is lower. Therefore, it would be logical to assume that in space, where there is no pressure, liquids will immediately boil and evaporate, including human blood.

Armstrong Line is the value at which atmospheric pressure is so low that liquids evaporate at a temperature equal to our body temperature. However, this does not happen with blood.

For example, body fluids, such as saliva or tears, do evaporate. A man who experienced first hand what low pressure is at an altitude of 36 kilometers said that his mouth was really dry, as all the saliva has evaporated. Blood, unlike saliva, is in a closed system, and veins allow it to remain liquid even at very low pressure.

Myth #4: The sun is a flaming ball

The sun is a cosmic object that receives a lot of attention in the study of astronomy. This is a huge fireball around which the planets revolve. He is on ideal living distance from our planet, giving enough heat.

Many misunderstand the Sun, believing that it really burns with a bright flame, like a fire. In reality, this is a large gas ball that gives light and heat thanks to nuclear fusion, which occurs when two hydrogen atoms combine to form helium.

Black holes in space

Myth #5: Black holes are funnel-shaped.

Many people think of black holes as giant funnels. This is how these objects are often depicted in movies. In reality, black holes are actually "invisible", but to give you an idea of ​​them, artists often depict them as whirlpools that swallow everything around.

At the center of the whirlpool is something that looks like entrance to the underworld. A real black hole resembles a ball. There is no "hole" as such, which draws in. It's just object with very high gravity, which attracts everything that is nearby.

comet tail

Myth #6: A comet has a burning tail.

Imagine for a second a comet. Most likely, your imagination will draw piece of ice, flying at high speed through outer space and leaving behind a bright trail.

Unlike meteors, which flare up in the atmosphere and die, a comet can boast of having a tail at all. not due to friction. Moreover, it is not destroyed at all, traveling in space. Her tail is formed by heat and solar wind, which melt the ice, and dust particles fly off the comet's body in the direction opposite to its movement.

Temperature on Mercury

Myth #7: Mercury is closest to the Sun, which means it's the hottest planet.

After Pluto was removed from the list of planets in the solar system, the smallest of these, Mercury began to be considered. This planet is closest to the Sun, so it can be assumed that it is the hottest. However, this is not true. Moreover, Mercury is actually comparatively cold.

The maximum temperature on Mercury is 427 degrees Celsius. If this temperature were observed over the entire surface of the planet, even then Mercury would be colder than Venus, whose surface temperature is 460 degrees Celsius.

Even though Venus is at a distance 49889664 kilometers from the Sun, it has such a high temperature due to the atmosphere, which consists of carbon dioxide, which traps heat near the surface. Mercury has no such atmosphere.

In addition to the lack of an atmosphere, there is another reason why Mercury is a comparatively cold planet. It's all about its movement and orbit. Mercury completes one revolution around the Sun in 88 earth days, and makes a complete revolution around its axis in 58 earth days. This means that the night on Mercury lasts 58 Earth days, so the temperature on the side that is in the shadow drops to minus 173 degrees Celsius.

Spacecraft launches

Myth #8: Humans have only sent spaceships to the surface of Mars.

Everyone, of course, heard about the rover "Curiosity" and his important scientific work that he is doing while on the surface of Mars today. Probably, many have forgotten that the Red Planet sent other devices.

rover "Opportunity" landed on Mars in 2003. It was expected to work no more than 90 days, but this device is still in working order, although 10 years have passed!

Many people think that we we will never be able to launch spacecraft to work on the surface of other planets. Of course, man sent various satellites into the orbits of the planets, but getting to the surface and landing safely is not an easy task.

However, there have been attempts. Between 1970 and 1984 The USSR successfully launched 8 devices to Venus. The atmosphere of this planet is extremely inhospitable, so all the ships worked there for a very short time. Longest stay - only 2 hours This is even more than scientists expected.

Also, the person got to more distant planets, for example, to Jupiter. This planet is almost entirely composed of gas, so landing on it in the usual sense is somewhat difficult. Scientists still sent a device to her.

In 1989 the spacecraft "Galileo" flew to Jupiter to study this giant planet and its moons. This journey took 14 years. For 6 years the Apparatus diligently carried out its mission, and then it was dropped on Jupiter.

He managed to send important information about the composition of the planet, as well as a number of other data that allowed scientists to reconsider their ideas about the formation of planets. Also another ship called "Juno" now on the way to the giant. It is planned that he will reach the planet only after 3 years.

Weightlessness in space

Myth #9: Astronauts in Earth orbit are in zero gravity.

Real weightlessness or micro-gravity exists far in space, however, not a single person has yet been able to experience it in his own skin, since not one of us has yet did not fly too far from the planet.

Many are sure that astronauts, working in space, hover in weightlessness because they are far from the planet and do not experience the Earth's gravity. However, it is not. Earth's gravity still exists at such a relatively short distance.

When an object revolves around a large cosmic body like the Earth, which has a lot of gravity, this object actually falls. Since the Earth is constantly moving, spaceships do not fall on its surface, but also move. This constant fall creates the illusion of weightlessness..

astronauts in the same way fall inside their ships, but since the ship is moving at the same speed, they seem to float in zero gravity.

A similar phenomenon can be seen in a falling elevator or a sharply descending plane. By the way, the scenes with weightlessness in the picture "Apollo 13" filmed in a descending liner, which is used to train astronauts.

The plane is ascending 9 thousand meters, and then begins to fall sharply during 23 seconds, thereby creating weightlessness inside the cabin. This is exactly the state experienced by astronauts in space.

What is the height of the earth's atmosphere?

26.04.2012 00:52

1. A person will not instantly turn into an ice?

Heating or cooling occurs either due to contact with a cold external environment, or through thermal radiation.
In a vacuum, there is no medium, there is nothing to contact with. To be more precise, in a vacuum there is a very rarefied gas, which, due to its rarefiedness, gives a very weak effect. Vacuum is used in a thermos just to keep warm! Without contact with a cold substance, the hero will not experience burning cold at all.

2. It will take a long time to freeze

As for radiation, the human body, once in a vacuum, will gradually give off heat by radiation. In a thermos, the walls of the flask are made mirrored in order to keep the radiation. This process is rather slow. Even if the astronaut does not have a spacesuit, but there is clothing, it will help to keep warm.

3. Roast?

But you can get burned. If it takes place in space near a star, then you can get sunburn on exposed skin - like from excessive sunburn on the beach. If it happens somewhere in the orbit of the Earth, then the effect will be stronger than on the beach, since there is no atmosphere there that protects against hard ultraviolet radiation. 10 seconds is enough to get burned. But still, this is also not a burning heat, and besides, clothing should also protect. And if we are talking about a hole in a spacesuit or a crack in a helmet, then you don’t have to worry about this topic.

4. Boiling saliva

The boiling point of liquids depends on pressure. The lower the pressure, the lower the boiling point. Therefore, in a vacuum, liquids will evaporate. This was discovered in experiments - not immediately, but saliva boils, since the pressure is almost zero, and the temperature of the tongue is 36 C. Apparently, the same thing will happen to all mucous membranes (in front of the eyes, in the lungs) - they will dry out, if only from the body will not receive new mucus.
By the way, if you take not just a liquid film, but a large volume of water, then, probably, there will be an effect like that of “dry ice”: evaporation from the outside, heat is quickly lost with evaporation, due to this, the inside freezes. It can be assumed that a ball of water in space will partially evaporate, and the rest will turn into a piece of ice.

5. Will the blood boil?

Elastic skin, vessels, heart will create sufficient pressure so that nothing boils.

6. The effect of champagne is also not expected

Scuba divers have such a nuisance as decompression sickness. The reason is what happens to the bottle of champagne.
In addition to boiling, there is also the dissolution of gases in the blood. When the pressure drops, the gases turn into bubbles. Champagne releases dissolved carbon dioxide, while scuba divers release nitrogen.
But this effect occurs at large pressure drops - at least a few atmospheres. And when it enters a vacuum, the drop is only one atmosphere. The article does not say anything on this topic, no symptoms are described - apparently, this is not enough.

7. Air from the inside will break?

It is assumed that the victim will exhale it - and therefore will not break it. What if he doesn't breathe? Let's assess the threat. Let the spacesuit maintain a pressure of 1 atm. This is 10 kg per square centimeter. If a person tries to hold his breath, then the soft palate gets in the way of the air. If there is an area of ​​at least 2 × 2 cm, then a load of 40 kg will be obtained. It is unlikely that the soft palate will withstand - a person will exhale on his own, like a deflated balloon.

8. Will the person suffocate?

This is the main and real threat. There is nothing to breathe. How long can a person survive without air? Trained divers - a few minutes, an untrained person - no more than a minute.
But! This is on inspiration, when the lungs are full of air with oxygen residues. And there, remember, you have to exhale. How long can a simple person last on an exhalation? 30 seconds. But! On exhalation, the lungs do not “shrink” to the end, there is little oxygen left. In space, apparently, there will be even less oxygen (how much can be kept). The specific time after which a person will lose consciousness from suffocation is known - about 14 seconds.

1. A person will not instantly turn into an ice?
Heating or cooling occurs either due to contact with a cold external environment, or through thermal radiation.
In a vacuum, there is no medium, there is nothing to contact with. To be more precise, in a vacuum there is a very rarefied gas, which, due to its rarefiedness, gives a very weak effect. Vacuum is used in a thermos just to keep warm! Without contact with a cold substance, the hero will not experience burning cold at all.

2. It will take a long time to freeze
As for radiation, the human body, once in a vacuum, will gradually give off heat by radiation. In a thermos, the walls of the flask are made mirrored in order to keep the radiation. This process is rather slow. Even if the astronaut does not have a spacesuit, but there is clothing, it will help to keep warm.

3. Roast?
But you can get burned. If it takes place in space near a star, then you can get a sunburn on bare skin - like from excessive sunburn on the beach. If it happens somewhere in the orbit of the Earth, then the effect will be stronger than on the beach, since there is no atmosphere there that protects against hard ultraviolet radiation. 10 seconds is enough to get burned. But still, this is also not a burning heat, and besides, clothing should also protect. And if we are talking about a hole in a spacesuit or a crack in a helmet, then you don’t have to worry about this topic.

4. Boiling saliva
The boiling point of liquids depends on pressure. The lower the pressure, the lower the boiling point. Therefore, in a vacuum, liquids will evaporate. This was discovered in experiments - not immediately, but saliva boils, since the pressure is almost zero, and the temperature of the tongue is 36 C. Apparently, the same thing will happen to all mucous membranes (in front of the eyes, in the lungs) - they will dry out, if only from the body will not receive new mucus.
By the way, if you take not just a liquid film, but a large volume of water, then, probably, there will be an effect like that of “dry ice”: evaporation from the outside, heat is quickly lost with evaporation, due to this, the inside freezes. It can be assumed that a ball of water in space will partially evaporate, and the rest will turn into a piece of ice.

5. Will the blood boil?
Elastic skin, vessels, heart will create sufficient pressure so that nothing boils.

6. The effect of champagne is also not expected
Scuba divers have such a nuisance as decompression sickness. The reason is what happens to the champagne bottle.
In addition to boiling, there is also the dissolution of gases in the blood. When the pressure drops, the gases turn into bubbles. Champagne releases dissolved carbon dioxide, while scuba divers release nitrogen.
But this effect occurs at large pressure drops - at least a few atmospheres. And when it enters a vacuum, the drop is only one atmosphere. The article does not say anything on this topic, no symptoms are described - apparently, this is not enough.

7. Air from the inside will break?
It is assumed that the victim will exhale it - and therefore will not break it. What if he doesn't breathe? Let's assess the threat. Let the spacesuit maintain a pressure of 1 atm. This is 10 kg per square centimeter. If a person tries to hold his breath, then the soft palate gets in the way of the air. If there is an area of ​​at least 2 × 2 cm, then a load of 40 kg will be obtained. It is unlikely that the soft palate will withstand - a person will exhale on his own, like a deflated balloon.

8. Will the person suffocate?
This is the main and real threat. There is nothing to breathe. How long can a person survive without air? Trained divers - a few minutes, an untrained person - no more than a minute.
But! This is on inspiration, when the lungs are full of air with oxygen residues. And there, remember, you have to exhale. How long can a simple person last on an exhalation? 30 seconds. But! On exhalation, the lungs do not “shrink” to the end, there is little oxygen left. In space, apparently, there will be even less oxygen (how much can be kept). The specific time after which a person will lose consciousness from suffocation is known - about 14 seconds.

There are many myths about what can happen to a person who finds himself in outer space without a protective suit. There are various versions, but today you will find out which ones are really probable and which ones are just fiction.

A person will not freeze instantly

Cooling or heating occurs as a result of thermal radiation, or contact with a cold external environment.

In space, in a vacuum, there is nothing to contact, there is neither a cold nor a hot external environment. There is only a very rarefied gas. In thermoses, for example, vacuum is used to retain heat. A person without a space suit will not feel a burning cold, since he will not come into contact with a cold substance.

It will take a long time to freeze

The human body, once in a vacuum, will gradually begin to give off its heat through radiation. The walls of the thermos flask are made mirrored in order to retain heat as long as possible. The process of heat transfer is rather slow. Therefore, even in the absence of a spacesuit, but in the presence of any clothing, heat will remain longer.

space tan

But getting a tan in space is very possible. If a person was in space at a relatively close distance from a star, then a burn may appear on his exposed skin, as from excessive exposure to the sun on the beach. If a person is somewhere in the orbit of our planet, then the effect will be much stronger than on the beach, since there is no atmosphere that protects against exposure to ultraviolet rays. Just ten seconds will be enough to get a fairly severe burn. But clothing should protect a person in such a situation, and you should not panic about a hole in a helmet or in a spacesuit either.

Boiling saliva

It is known that the boiling point of liquids is directly dependent on pressure. Since the lower the pressure level, the lower the boiling point, respectively. So in a vacuum, liquids will gradually begin to evaporate. Scientists were able to draw such a conclusion on the basis of the experiments. Saliva will boil sooner or later, since there is practically no pressure, and the temperature in the mouth is 36 degrees. Most likely, all mucous membranes will face the same fate. If the mucus is not renewed from the body, then the mucous membranes will dry out.

By the way, if you conduct a similar experiment with a large volume of water, the result is expected to be different. The most likely to be observed is the effect of dry ice, when the inner part freezes and the outer part evaporates. Presumably, a water ball in space will partially freeze and partially evaporate.

Will the blood boil?

Elastic skin, heart and blood vessels can protect a person from boiling blood in space. They will create enough pressure to prevent the blood from boiling.

Is the "champagne effect" possible?

Most likely, a person in space can avoid this trouble. Decompression sickness sometimes overtakes scuba divers, as a result of the impact on their body of a sharp decrease in pressure. In this case, the dissolution of gases in human blood occurs.

This process is similar to what happens in a bottle of champagne. When the pressure is reduced, the gases turn into small bubbles. In champagne, dissolved carbon dioxide comes out of the liquid, and in the case of scuba divers, nitrogen.

But this effect is observed at pressure drops of several atmospheres. When a person enters a vacuum, there is a drop of just one atmosphere. This is probably not enough to turn blood into champagne.

The air in the lungs will tear

Presumably, a person will exhale the air that is inside, and therefore it will not burst. Is there a possibility that you can not exhale air? Let's say that in a spacesuit the pressure is at the level of one atmosphere, this corresponds to ten kilograms per square centimeter. When you try to hold your breath, the air will be blocked by the soft palate. If we assume that its area is at least two square centimeters, then we get a load of forty kilograms. It is unlikely that the sky can withstand such a load, so the person will be forced to exhale like a deflating balloon.

Will the person suffocate?

This is the main real threat to a person in space, in which there is absolutely nothing to breathe. The most trained divers can survive without air for only a few minutes, and a person without special training - about a minute. But these figures are true for holding air on inspiration. And in space, a person will have to exhale, as we noted earlier.

On exhalation, a person can hold out for thirty seconds. And even less so in space. The time after which a person will lose consciousness from suffocation is known - it is approximately fourteen seconds.

1. During the first 10-15 seconds, you remain conscious and feel the moisture evaporate from the tongue.
The same thing happens with the entire surface of the body - as with heavy sweating.
Therefore, in an airless space, a person feels icy cold.

2. Attacks of nausea and vomiting are possible, as gases from the stomach and intestines are rapidly pushed out.
(Note: it is better to refrain from soda and hot sauces before spacewalk).

3. If the Eustachian tubes in the ears are clogged with earwax or something else,
then there may be problems with the inner ear, if not - everything is in order.

4. The heart rate rises sharply, then gradually falls, just like blood pressure.
Venous pressure steadily increases as gas bubbles form in the body.

5. The body may swell up to twice its normal size, the skin is stretched,
unless, of course, you're wearing a tight, stretchy suit.

6. According to the Space Biology Data Book,
fine-fitting elastic clothing can completely prevent the formation of gas bubbles
when the pressure drops to 15 torr (millimeters of mercury).
For comparison, normal atmospheric pressure is 760 Torr, while the pressure on the Moon's surface is about 10–11 Torr.
Blood boils at 47 torr. The body swells due to the fact that the liquid in the soft tissues passes into a gaseous state.
However, the skin is strong enough to withstand this pressure.
So, you will not be torn apart, you will just swell up like a balloon.

7. As the body expels vapor through the nose and mouth, and the fluid content in the body is reduced,
you feel more and more cold. Mouth and tongue become icy.

8. If, with all this, you also find yourself in direct sunlight (without special protective equipment),
you will get a severe sunburn.

9. Due to the lack of oxygen, the skin acquires a bluish-purple hue, known as cyanosis.

10. The brain and heart remain in relative order for about 90 seconds.
When blood pressure drops to 47 Torr, the blood begins to boil and the heart gradually stops.
After that, nothing will help you.

11. But if the pressure is restored in time, the body will gradually return to normal.
True, for some time you will lose your sight and the ability to move. But over time, both functions will be restored.
In addition, for several days you will not feel the taste of food.

12. On the other hand, if you hold your breath or try to
air escape during sudden decompression in some other way,
then “an increase in intrapulmonary pressure will lead to such a strong expansion
chest, which can cause ruptures in the lungs and destruction of capillaries.
The retained air is squeezed out of the lungs into the chest, and through the damaged blood vessels enters
directly into the general circulation. And through the bloodstream, air bubbles spread already throughout the body.
and can easily reach vital organs such as the heart and brain.”
Something similar can happen during decompression on board an aircraft flying at high altitude.
If this happens, remember that you should never hold your breath.