Human Body in Outer Space
Will an
astronaut explode if he takes off his helmet?
Have you
ever wondered what might happen to your body in space without a spacesuit? Is
it really as dramatic as the movies make it out to be? Would you literally
EXPLODE? Could you survive?
The most
serious dangers of exposure to outer space are a lack of oxygen and ebullism.
Ebullism is the formation of bubbles in body fluids due to a reduction in
ambient pressure.
You’ll
swell up pretty bad, perhaps even up to twice your normal size, but you won’t
explode as your skin is very stretchy. Your blood will also not boil. You will,
of course, be in an immense amount of pain and your blood circulation will be
impeded. After around 15 seconds, your body would have used up all of the
oxygen in your body and you’d lose consciousness.
Some of you
may be thinking “But I can hold my breath for minutes!” The situation in space
is a little different than here on Earth due to the lack of outside pressure,
and if you held your breath in space without a suit you’d be in a big trouble.
This is because any remaining air would rapidly expand, rupturing the lungs.
There is
such a thing as "explosive decompression," but that merely refers to
the sudden loss of pressure in an air- or spacecraft, not the effect on the
occupants. Though your chances of surviving such an experience are slim, your
body would not explode.
In sum-
you’d swell up, burn, mutate, pass out and your lungs might explode. Lovely.
But don’t worry, if you’re ever in this sticky situation, you’ve probably got a
solid minute or two to be rescued before you die, so chin up, wannabe
astronauts.
Debunked!
Sources:
P.S. - If you have any urban legend or superstition that you are doubtful of, just comment it and I will try to debunk that.
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