Reply to: James May's flight to 'edge of space'

[Moscow Mule]

You'll probably find that with his last name being "Love" that his nickname was Cupid, just like mine was "Paddy" when I was serving and anyone called Smith is usually referred to as "Smudge".

We nick-named a chap called Ellis as "Syph".

[Churchill]

"a Scotsman called Cupid Love"

Made up name!

You'll probably find that with his last name being "Love" that his nickname was Cupid, just like mine was "Paddy" when I was serving and anyone called Smith is usually referred to as "Smudge".

[PM-Junkie]

Bugger.

It wasn't him it was his wingman...

"you never, ever leave your wingman"

[Moscow Mule]

Same as I described. If you were dumped into space in your birthday suit you wouldn't just instantly die.

I guess it's the same mechanism as an uncontrolled ascent from depth whilst diving.

If you're not careful you're going to hurt some spaces in the body (inner ears etc) and if you hold your breath it's going to hurt.

I also surmise that you'd be at risk of embolisms etc as any dissolved gases got bigger.

[DimPrawn]

http://space.about.com/cs/basics/a/bodyvacuum1.htm

[bogeyman]

What would happen if your pressure suit cracked/split at the seams?

Same as I described. If you were dumped into space in your birthday suit you wouldn't just instantly die.

[Moscow Mule]

Eventually you would, of course, die from lack of oxygen, but you most assuredly don't explode, your eyes don't pop out and you don't instantly freeze into a block of ice.

What would happen if your pressure suit cracked/split at the seams?

[bogeyman]

Entertaining show, as is par for May.

There were a few spectacular 'crap science' bits here and there, though.

e.g. when he's in the U2 he says that exposure to the atmosphere at that altitude would 'kill you in seconds'. Which is nonsense.

If you didn't try to hold your breath, a healthy human being can be exposed to a hard vacuum for several minutes without suffering permanent injury. You'd probably loose consciousness after a two minutes or so, but provided you were able to get back into a pressurised environment before you passed out, you'd be fine.

I believe this has actually happened more than once (accidentally) in ground-based Soviet astronaut training.

Your blood doesn't 'boil' as it's enclosed in an airtight cardiovascular system. You don't instantly 'freeze solid' because, in a vacuum it takes a long time to loose heat.

Eventually you would, of course, die from lack of oxygen, but you most assuredly don't explode, your eyes don't pop out and you don't instantly freeze into a block of ice.

[Menelaus]

"a Scotsman called Cupid Love"

Made up name!

[DimPrawn]

Yesterday's World.

TV Programme highlighting science and technology of yester-year that went nowhere.

[Moscow Mule]

Just had a thought: does anyone here think that James May is being lined up by the BBC as the new Raymond Baxter? (note: if you don't know who R. Baxter is, you're too young)

Are they going to bring back Tomorrow's World?

[Menelaus]

Nah.

He's never tried to shoot down a V2 whilst flying a Spitfire...

True although I get the impression that's be more to do with the lack of opportunity than desire.

[Menelaus]

Just had a thought: does anyone here think that James May is being lined up by the BBC as the new Raymond Baxter? (note: if you don't know who R. Baxter is, you're too young)

[cailin maith]

Girly is too busy telling everybody about your make up and her shaving habits in the FFS thread to comment on that program.

Squeeler

Par for the course!

[Churchill]

Girly is too busy telling everybody about your make up and her shaving habits in the FFS thread to comment on that program.

Par for the course!