undefined | Better HN

0 pointsGrimburger3y ago0 comments

You sure about that?

Humans regularly work at 30x atmospheric pressure and can probably go to 100x

https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/32640/what-is-the-...

0 comments

I don't think airplane hulls are designed for more than 1 Atm of pressure differential between cabin and the outside; according to the wikipedia article [0] on cabin pressurization normal values are between 540 and 690 hPa pressure differential are normal.

If the cabin has an overpressure event, the hull might pop like a balloon, leading to a decompression event.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabin_pressurization

userbinator3y ago

Exactly. The humans aren't the problem, it's the plane itself.

afterburner3y ago

These seem to talk mostly about diving, where you breathe from a regulated air supply. I assume that air supply is not at 30-100x atmospheric pressure?

bboygravity3y ago

If the air supply wouldn't be at a slightly higher pressure than that, the air would get sucked out of your lungs as far as I understand.

This is why dive tanks run out way way faster the deeper you go (around 1 hour at 18 meters deep and around 10 minutes at 30+ meters out the top of my head).

heavenlyblue3y ago

Air supply is at that pressure, but they don't breathe the same mix as atmospheric air. Atmospheric air becomes narcotic at 4 atmospheres.

GrimburgerOP3y ago

The air is at that pressure, as is the surrounding water pressure on the human body.

We are remarkably good at handling higher pressures.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse