Discover Top Posts Tagged with #g-forces

I'm so glad you've seen that movie, because I saw it yesterday and I have QUESTIONS! Okay, the whole tarp thing. Going into space from Mars under a whole lot of NOTHING. Would that work? For real? Also, where did the broken ribs come from, was it the G-forces? He was in that suit? Howcome only the ribs broke, and not the rest of him? And the radioactive wrapped-up thing that kept him warm - how would that thing have affected him, short term and long term? (Also, bless you for everything you do.)

The tarp thing:

I feel like this was moreof a physics question than a medical one and my last physics class was a littleover three years ago. But what I’m GUESSING (because I don’t feel qualified toeven do a lit search on this) is that the tarp was there to reduce drag asWatney made his way to space, not to contain any kind of life support.

Even in the thin Martianatmosphere, there would have still been gas particles which would have createdsome wind resistance. By taking off the nosecone and windows to reduce weight,he was also making the top flat and the sides bumpy. At the speeds Watney wasexiting the planet, this would have (and did) significantly impact how far hecould go through the atmosphere (which was important because he needed toget to a certain height before he could rendezvous with the rest of the crew).The tarp theoretically would have smoothed that out and made it possible forhim to get far enough out of the atmosphere to be rescued. I’m honestly notsure that this would work, but it’s my best guess. If anymore-physics-mindes people are reading this and calling BS, I’d love to hearyour take on it.

He was wearing an ExtraVehicular Activity suit during this whole scene- a kind of suit designed to beworn in space. He didn’t need any life support from the capsule, and thechange from Mars to pace likely wouldn’t have impacted the suits’s ability tokeep him alive. So him surviving the ascent definitely could havebeen a thing.

The broken ribs:

Yes, the broken ribs camefrom the G-forces. He was being pushed back into his chair at 12 G’s, or about 12times the force the earth’s gravity would exert on someone Mark Watney’sweight. That’s like Mark Watney with 12 other Mark Watneys casually thrown ontop of him (granted he was pretty skinny at the time, but still). That’s a lotof force, but actually something fighter pilots come pretty close to intraining (and in real life) without breaking ribs.

So why did Mark Watney, atrained astronaut, break ribs? Well, the body needs calcium to do importantthings like contract muscles (think the heart), send nerve signals and makehormones. It is also what makes our bones strong. Now, the formerfunctions are more necessary for life than the bone hardness, so duringperiods when we can’t get calcium from our diet (think rationed potatoesforever), our bodies have permission to steal as much calcium as they needfrom our bones in order to stay alive and functioning. But after months andmonths of little to no calcium coming in, the bones would be pretty weak frommaintaining blood calcium levels. Too much stress from g-forces and the boneswould break under the pressure.

So why just the ribs andnot the other bones? Shape has a lot to do with it. The ribs create a cage andare designed to bend a little bit to accommodate breathing. Mark Watney lookedlike he was taking the force at an angle, which was compressing the ribcagedown and back into the chair (think the feeling of taking off in a commercial airplane,but many, many times that). Eventually, the ribs bendy-ness would not be able to compensate and begin to break or dislocate.

This would be less likelyto happen with long bones like in the arms and legs, because the g-force wouldbe exerting pressure on them, but not bending them.

The suit wouldn’t havehelped at all in keeping his bones intact. There would likely have beenmechanisms in the suit to help counter cardiovascular and neurological symptoms (G-LOC) of excessive g-forces to keep him conscious, there would not have been anythingthat could have decreased pressure on his chest.

The radioactive thing:

If it was emitting enoughradiation to kill him, he would have been dead within a few weeks of beginningto use it. From what he said, itlooked like it only posed a threat if it was broken, and the only radiationcoming off of it was thermal- pretty harmless.

If there had been a problem with the machine (propulsion thing?), though, there’s really no super effective treatment for radiationpoisoning, so he’d have to notice symptoms really early and minimize the dosehe got, hoping it was low enough that he could survive it.

If it was between 100 and 400 roentgens, he may have experienced nausea (starting a few hours to days after exposure) and surface to partial-thickness burns on his skin. He might have also felt weaker or more tired than usual. If he was able to get away from it at that point, he would likely survive.

If it was over 400 roentgens, he wouldn’t be so lucky. He would experience severe nausea/vomiting within an hour after exposure. Within a few days he would begin to see severe burns progressing to open sores on his skin, confusion, fainting, hair loss, bleeding from everywhere. It would not be a fun way to go. Without medical treatment, he’d be dead within thirty days. Assuming he had access to a protective drug called potassium iodide, blood, and a way to keep himself well hydrated (he did have IV equipment (water making scene), so its possible) he would have about a 50% chance of survival.

Much lower exposure (which he may have been exposed to just because space in general is pretty full of the stuff and he’s an astronaut) would not cause immediate symptoms, but would give him a greater chance of developing cancer later in life.

R E F E R E N C E S

#whump reference #the martian #mark watney #g-forces #rib fracture #radiation exposure

DOGS in SPACE #3

2015 Jack Matych

#comics #dogs #space #humor #g-forces #livinglife

One of the most intense scenes of 2014. I saw this IMAX and I was blown away. Want to talk about Interstellar? My ask box is always OPEN!

Interstellar Appreciation Blog

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#Interstellar #Brand #G-Forces #Endurance #Spin #gifsets

New Post has been published on Tech Reads Now

New Post has been published on http://techreadsnow.com/why-the-human-body-cant-handle-heavy-acceleration/

Why the Human Body Can't Handle Heavy Acceleration

Our bodies are surprisingly resilient in many situations, but rapid acceleration is not one of them. While the human body can withstand any constant speed—be it 20 miles per hour or 20 billion miles per hour—we can only change that rate of travel relatively slowly. Speed up or slow down too quickly and it’s lights out for you, permanently.

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