Hacker News Reader

Comment by ranting-moth | Hacker News Reader

How long can you survive in a 4000 psi water pressure, going suddenly from atmospheric pressure?

Less than a millisecond. Water at that pressure could slice steel in half. The heat from the explosion would be equal to that off the sun. It would probably one of the quickest ways to die, frankly.

I don't think you do. Outside pressure is almost 400x the inside pressure.

The implosion must have been very very violent and sudden. Being surrounded by carbon fibre and titantium means all that material and your body is trying occupy the same space.

I think it happened fast enough that nobody realized or felt what was happening.

It's as close to "instantly killed" as anything can be, literally dead before your nerves can communicate a distress signal to the brain.

A tiny fraction of a second while your skull implodes but you’d be unconscious even before that due to the pressure

You don't.

Look up the Mythbusters test for the old timey dive suit, and/or the Byford Dolphin if you want nightmares.

The air in your lungs presumably becomes extremely hot. I'm not sure how hot. Perhaps you explode instantly before the implosion scatters you a considerable distance.

I don't think there will be much heating in the lungs--yes, the air is being compressed and heated to extreme temperatures in the process but pressure can only drive a fluid (liquid or gas) to the speed of sound in said fluid. The wall of water is coming much faster than that, it's going to squash you before much of that hot air gets into the lungs.

as long as "suddenly" ;D

Reply on news.ycombinator.com