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Re: radiation vs. conduction

Greetings:

A colleague of mine was asked an interesting question yesterday. His
chemistry students were asking about what would happen if someone were
released into the vacuum of deep space. He put a water balloon inside a bell
jar and evacuated it to suggest that explosion wouldn't be the immediate
result. Then someone asked about freezing. He wondered how fast a person
would freeze, given that radiation would seem to be the only available
mechanism for cooling.

What is the best way to understand this? How would I estimate the rate of
cooling for a person in a vacuum?

- Tim

Keeping your eyes closed should keep them from freezing for a while.
I'd also try to keep a LITTLE air in my lungs but pinch my nose shut and
close my mouth.
A.C. Clarke used this manuever in 2001 so Dave could outfox HAL.

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(919) 286-3366 x224 Albert Einstein, 1936