1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:10,639 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: it's Christian Seger. Do you remember that time in Battlestar 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: Galactica when that one character was blown out an air 4 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:20,160 Speaker 1: lock into outer space without a suit? No, what about 5 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,959 Speaker 1: when it happened in two thousand one, or Guardians of 6 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: the Galaxy or Sunshine. Yes, we all dream about traveling 7 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: in space, but if movies are any indication, we spend 8 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:32,560 Speaker 1: almost as much time thinking about flying around up there 9 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: without a suit on. So let's answer this question once 10 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: and for all. What would space actually do to a 11 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: human body. Well, here's the good news. You wouldn't die instantly. Yeah, 12 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: you might actually survive for a little bit out there. 13 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,199 Speaker 1: How do we know because somebody tested it out on dogs. 14 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty five, researchers at Brooks Air Force Base 15 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: in Texas exposed several dogs to a near vacuum. The 16 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: dogs survived for up to nineties seconds, but if they 17 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: went two minutes or more, they died when re pressurized. 18 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: And if your first thought is they did this to dogs, 19 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 1: look I'm right there with you. Researchers at NASA did 20 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,119 Speaker 1: the same to chimpanzees in the late nineteen sixties, finding 21 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,040 Speaker 1: that they could last up to three point five minutes. 22 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: And then there's been a few accidents where people got 23 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: d and then re pressurized, like a technician at Johnson 24 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: Space Center who lost consciousness after twelve seconds. This was 25 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: just before the moisture on his tongue began to boil. 26 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: That's right, his tongue boiled sea. Without air pressure to 27 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: keep your precious bodily fluids in their liquid state, they 28 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: would rapidly lose heat energy before they froze and then 29 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: evaporated totally. This isn't the worst thing the lack of 30 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: pressure can do to you either. The gases inside you 31 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: would expand, causing you to swell up like a balloon 32 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 1: in a thank Giving Day parade. This includes air and 33 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: gas bubbles formed from your boiling bodily fluids. That effect 34 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: is called ebulism, which can block your bloodstream with those bubbles, 35 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 1: and that would cause you to pass out in about 36 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: fifteen seconds. From the lack of blood flowing into your brain, 37 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,399 Speaker 1: your skins blood vessels would burst. Your internal organs would 38 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: also swell and likely tear, but you wouldn't explode like 39 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: in total recall. You would just stretch painfully until you died. 40 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: Keep in mind, so far we've only been talking about 41 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:37,360 Speaker 1: the effects to a body in a vacuum. In actual space, 42 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: there are even more hazards to deal with. Contrary to 43 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: what some inferior intellects may say, it actually isn't very 44 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: cold in space because there aren't enough gas particles to 45 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: transfer heat. But depending on your location, you could either 46 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: be exposed to a star's thermal radiation at around a 47 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty degrees celsius, or your own body heat 48 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: would radiate away in the shade at around negative one 49 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: hundred degrees. Cosmic rays and solar wind would also cook 50 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 1: you with high energy photons, destroying your DNA and possibly 51 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: leading to cancer if you even survived, And while you're 52 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: swelling and roasting, you might also be hit by micro meteoroids, 53 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:24,920 Speaker 1: which are those little particles of dust and rock that 54 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: whipped through space at high speed. Finally, there's the obvious 55 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: lack of oxygen. Normally, you could hold your breath for 56 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: several minutes, but remember without pressure, that whole boiling effect 57 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: would diffuse the oxygen from your blood, so again, after 58 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: about fifteen seconds, you'd pass out, and don't try to 59 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: hold your breath either, it would just expand with the 60 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: other gases, rupturing your lungs. All in all, these things 61 00:03:53,120 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: would probably kill you in less than a minute. Check 62 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: out the brainstuff channel on YouTube, and for more on 63 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works 64 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: dot com.