6 Things that happen to the human body in outer space & bull; hello healthy

On earth, we can live comfortably thanks to the protection of the atmosphere. The atmosphere serves as a blanket to ward off harmful UV radiation from the sun, regulating the temperature of the planet we live in, and also maintaining good atmospheric pressure.

This is different from outer space, where anything can be very dangerous. Without an atmosphere, outer space is a vacuum - a vacuum, pressure, empty space of matter.

Have you ever wondered what might happen to the human body while in outer space without a space suit, without the protection of the shuttle? Is it really as dramatic as that shown in Hollywood films? Can you really explode? Is there a slight chance of survival?

1. Outer space is so cold, you will freeze

Outer space is a very cold environment. Space temperatures hit -270 ° C, the coldest temperature ever recorded - just a few degrees higher than absolute zero. So, the next time you find yourself floating aimlessly in the absence of a space suit, it is only a matter of time for your body to freeze completely.

In geothermal weather, the human body produces sweat as a natural way of cooling the body. Once the sweat evaporates, the sweat residue that sticks to the skin uses up the body's heat energy, producing a cool, soothing effect. In space, this process is multiplied many times. Usually, the humidity of the air will slightly inhibit this cooling effect because it will be more difficult for the sweat to evaporate in the air that is already mixed with water. In a vacuum, there is no moisture.

The absence of moisture will allow this cooling process to be accelerated many times over by evaporating any exposed body fluids. Your watery eyes, mouth covered with saliva, and moist airways will freeze as a result of this accelerated process.

However, this process will not happen as quickly as you think. A vacuum causes the body's heat transfer to be so slow, maybe almost non-existent, that before it completely freezes, your body goes through several other processes first - some of which can happen at the same time. First, it puffs up like a balloon.

2. Without protection, your body can bulge tremendously in space

When you are in cold air or in water while on earth, you have the ability to produce "convection" currents that draw heat out of your body, but vacuum doesn't have this heat transfer capability due to zero pressure.

No, you won't explode. Just because your body is exposed to zero pressure from a vacuum doesn't mean your body will automatically lose all cohesion (the attractive forces between molecules).

But just because you won't explode doesn't mean you won't expand. Without the presence of the earth's atmospheric pressure, water that makes up 70 percent of the human body would form water vapor. Likewise, nitrogen dissolved in the bloodstream near the surface of your skin will collect into tiny bubbles. Over time, these bubbles expand themselves, inflating the body to double your normal size, starting from the hands and feet to spread throughout the body. This condition is called ebullism. Ironically, all the organs in the body are protected by elastic skin - effective enough to prevent your body from bursting from within. Ebullism causes severe tissue damage and your blood flow is restricted, but you will not die quickly once you have this condition.

3. Burns due to direct exposure to sunlight

A day of playing on the beach without protection from sunscreen is tantamount to exposing yourself to sunburns. Now, imagine if your "naked" body is exposed to direct sunlight without the protection of the ozone layer which can ward off even the most dangerous UV rays. Floating in a vacuum unprotected by an astronaut's suit will burn exposed skin. In addition, seeing the sun directly will "fry" the retina of your eye, making you blind. Even if you do survive, your risk of developing skin cancer will increase many fold.

4. Blood will not boil, but other body fluids can

The pressure in the vacuum chamber is so low that the boiling point of human body fluids when in a vacuum will drop dramatically below normal body temperature (37ºC). As a result, the body initiates the formation of gas bubbles in body fluids which can have serious repercussions.

However, your blood cannot boil as a result of this. Elastic human skin is able to keep the temperature and blood pressure in the body normal (for a while) to prevent the blood from boiling. Meanwhile, your saliva will start to boil and burn your tongue.

5. Choking due to hypoxia

While in the vacuum of space, you will be completely deprived of oxygen, but not in the way you might think. The condition in which a person suffers from extreme lack of oxygen is called hypoxia. Without the earth's atmospheric pressure, oxygen in the blood would evaporate and escape from your body. As a result, your cardiovascular system will fail to work, and no blood can be sent to the muscles and other vital organs. Plus, this choking effect will make your skin start turning blue.

Starved for oxygen, your brain will go into shutdown mode - like a laptop - to save energy. Humans can remain conscious for at least 10-15 seconds if they experience this condition before completely losing consciousness.

6. Holding your breath in space, your lungs can explode

One fatal mistake you can make when you get sucked out of your spaceship without any protection is this: decide to take one last deep breath, and hold it in.

You may think that the sole reserve of air that is now stored in your lungs could be a lifesaver. On the contrary. The throat-forming valves and tubes are not designed to hold air against void. Holding your breath in space will cause a burst of decompression in your lungs - much like when a scuba diver rises to sea level rapidly. Air in the lungs will expand dramatically beyond the tolerance limits of the lung wall. In short: your lungs will burst.

In critical moments like these, the wisest thing you can do is to exhale constantly, as much as possible, to avoid the trauma of this outburst.

Unfortunately, if you just float in space for more than two minutes, the brain that has already "shutdown" will be followed by failure of other internal organs due to extreme lack of oxygen. Only then will you freeze to death.