How long would a person survive in space if they were only wearing an air tank

Question

How long would a person survive in space if they were only wearing an air tank

Answer 1

minutes, isnt it really really cold in space?

Answer 2

I suppose pace is very cold, so maybe a few minutes!

Answer 3

They wouldn't

Answer 4

less then a second or two likely... you said only an air tank, no protective suit... no themral protection, no vaccum protection.  

Answer 5

The coldness of space wouldn't be a factor, really, because, there being no atmosphere, you won't lose heat to the surrounding environment, but rather just through radiating heat. So cooling would occur only very slowly. The problem would be the pressure change, which would cause the liquids in your body to turn to gas, i.e. boil. That'd kill you within minutes I would assume. See: http://science.howstuffworks.com/questio...

Answer 6

  About as long as they would if they were not wearing a tank.

Answer 7

not very long

Answer 8

0.745 seconds apparently

Answer 9

90 seconds, you would lose consciousness in about 1 minute.

The problem has many variables.  The primary considerations are the sun and the air in the person’s lung.

If you hyperventilate and empty your lungs then you can travel across a short distance and make your oxygen supply last longer.  You can survive the cold for a short time and the solar radiation can be lethal fairly quick.  You will get UV burns and suffer frost bite on your fingers, toes and nose.

The most likely problem is that you will have air in your lungs and NOT exhaling it will cause damage to your lungs, even an explosion.  The human body’s skin is pretty strong so your organs won’t explode.  Your eyes will bulge out, but not too much.  Once your core body temperature drops your blood can freeze.  At low pressure it could boil, but inside of your body the blood and organs are pressurized.

The most likely form of death will be death by oxygen starvation.  If the brain is deprived of oxygen for more than 2 minutes then it starts to die, cardiac arrest is almost automatic and death falls quickly.  Therefore I would estimate that you could survive expose to deep space for a maximum of 1.5 minutes.

According to Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_expos...

"A rough estimate is that a human will have about 90 seconds to be recompressed, after which death may be unavoidable. The absence of oxygen outside the body causing rapid de-oxygenation of the blood (hypoxia) is the primary reason for unconsciousness within 14 seconds. If a person is exposed to low pressures more slowly, hypoxia causes gradual loss of cognitive functions starting at about 3 kilometres (10,000 ft) altitude equivalent. Less severe effects include the formation of nitrogen gas bubbles and consequent interference with organ function (decompression sickness), which is actually less severe in space than in diving. Meanwhile, reduction of blood carbon dioxide levels (hypocapnia) can alter the blood pH and indirectly contribute to nervous system malfunctions. If the person tries to hold their breath during decompression, the lungs may rupture internally."

According to Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_adapt...

"The environment of space is highly dangerous without appropriate protection. The greatest threat is from the lack of pressure in the vacuum environment, while temperature and radiation effects also have an influence. In the low pressure environment, gas exchange in the lungs would continue as normal but would result in the removal of all gases, including oxygen, from the bloodstream. After 9 to 12 seconds, the deoxygenated blood would reach the brain, and loss of consciousness would result. Death would gradually follow after two minutes of exposure - though the limits are uncertain. If actions are taken quickly, and normal pressure restored within around 90 seconds, the victim may well make a full recovery."

Answer 10

1. Depends on how much air is in the tank.

2. Depends on whether you are protected from cold/heat.

3. You need a suit that reflects radiation.