# Could you breathe from an air hose in a vacuum? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 5, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712 "2010-01-05T03:13:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/1 "2010-01-05T03:13:12Z")
Picture this: You’re on a Pan Am space shuttle, headed for the spinning split-level O’Neil-colony space station in low Earth orbit. It’s a pleasant flight, and you’re relaxing to the strains of Johann Strauss’s _Blue Danube_ waltz. Suddenly, a monolith measuring exactly 1-by-4-by-9 crashes through the rear of your spacecraft, cutting the cabin in half. You’re strapped in to your seat, so the outrushing air doesn’t blow you out, and you open your mouth and let the air escape from your lungs so they don’t rupture. But now, you’re in vacuum. You’ll asphyxiate in minutes if you don’t find something to breathe. But lo! Dangling from the ceiling/wall/floor of the remains of your cabin is an emergency plastic hose, attached to a still-functioning oxygen tank! You strap it to your face and inhale. It’s pure oxygen gas. Will you be able to get enough oxygen in your lungs to stay conscious, with no outside air pressing back on your lungs? And how long before other factors of being _in vacuo_ get the better of you? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/2 "2010-01-05T03:21:35Z")
Wouldn’t the outrush of oxygen from the tank blast your face off? And even if it doesn’t, how do you get the oxygen down into your lungs? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/3 "2010-01-05T03:23:45Z")
[Cecil says](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/711/if-you-were-thrown-into-the-vacuum-of-space-with-no-space-suit-would-you-explode) you might survive for up to two minutes: > [@](#): > > It’s true that in the absence of ambient pressure your blood and other bodily fluids would boil, in the sense that they would turn to vapor. But that’s not as drastic as it sounds. Your soft tissues would swell markedly, but they’d return to normal if you were recompressed within a short time. > > It’s conceivable your lungs might rupture, since in a vacuum the air in them would greatly expand. But experience suggests this is rare even if decompression is extremely rapid. The chances are much greater if your windpipe is closed, making it impossible for the expanding air to escape. > Death would not be instantaneous. It’s believed you’d have 10-15 seconds of “useful consciousness” and it’d be several minutes before you’d die. If you were rescued within that time there’s a decent chance you’d survive. Research with chimps and monkeys suggests that if you were exposed to a virtual vacuum for less than 90-120 seconds you might not suffer any permanent damage. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/4 "2010-01-05T03:50:20Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Wouldn’t the outrush of oxygen from the tank blast your face off? And even if it doesn’t, how do you get the oxygen down into your lungs? The real worry would be lung overpressure - lungs can only stand a few PSI before they are damaged, so the regulator on the oxygen mask would have to be set very carefully. ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/5 "2010-01-05T04:18:29Z")
According to wiki, the minimum partial pressure of O2 required not to pass out is 0.16 bar: [Partial pressure - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partial_pressure) According to diving lore, the maximum internal pressure human lungs can tolerate is equivalent to about 1 metre of water, or about 0.1 bar. Sadly, one scuba board describes how a child died by breathing air from an inverted bucket at the bottom of a swimming pool (4 feet deep) and surfacing while holding their breath. > **[maximum lung pressure](https://scubaboard.com/community/threads/maximum-lung-pressure.1315/)** > > Not sure if this belongs under diving medicine, but it seemed the logical place to be. > > What is the accepted value for maximum lung pressure? We are doing a report on the affects of ocean swells and holding your breath while diving. We want to show... So the answer is no, you can’t breath from a mask in vacuum. The positive internal pressure of pure oxygen that your lungs can tolerate without damage is too low to keep you oxygenated. ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/6 "2010-01-05T04:24:16Z")
If you want to stretch a point; high altitude dwellers might be able to get away with less than 0.16 bar of oxygen. Bodybuilders who habitually blow up hot water bottles as a stunt might be able to contain more than 0.1 bar without damage. So a bodybuilder who lives in the Andes might just manage it… for a few minutes… ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/7 "2010-01-05T13:41:07Z")
> [@matt](#): > > According to diving lore, the maximum internal pressure human lungs can tolerate is equivalent to about 1 metre of water, or about 0.1 bar. Sadly, one scuba board describes how a child died by breathing air from an inverted bucket at the bottom of a swimming pool (4 feet deep) and surfacing while holding their breath. Ayup. One of the tenets of SCUBA diving is that you absolutely do not ever attempt to hold your breath while you are ascending, for exactly that reason; the reduction in external pressure means that you need to let air out of your lungs to avoid building up an excessive pressure differential. > **[Barotrauma | Pulmonary barotrauma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barotrauma#Pulmonary_barotrauma)** > > Lung over-pressure injury in ambient pressure divers using underwater breathing apparatus is usually caused by breath-holding on ascent. The compressed gas in the lungs expands as the ambient pressure decreases causing the lungs to over-expand and rupture unless the diver allows the gas to escape by maintaining an open airway, as in normal breathing. The lungs do not sense pain when over-expanded giving the diver little warning to prevent the injury. This does not affect breath-hold divers as the... ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/8 "2010-01-05T14:44:08Z")
> [@Joe Frickin Friday](#): > > Ayup. One of the tenets of SCUBA diving is that you absolutely do not ever attempt to hold your breath while you are ascending, for exactly that reason; It’s not even that specific. It’s simply, “Never hold your breath.” ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/9 "2010-01-05T15:48:06Z")
Just popping in to say that I saw the thread title and immediately thought that I certainly would not want to breathe from the air hose attached to **my** vacuum. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/10 "2010-01-05T15:54:34Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > Just popping in to say that I saw the thread title and immediately thought that I certainly would not want to breathe from the air hose attached to **my** vacuum. Even if you were running the vacuum in reverse? 😉 But seriously, folks, it sounds like even with pure oxygen coming outta that tank at very low pressure, you wouldn’t be able to get enough O[sub]2[/sub] into your lungs without bursting them against an external vacuum. Sounds like our hero needs plan B: Emergency inflatable balloons that the passengers can crawl into. Hopefully, HAL won’t cut the air hoses. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/11 "2010-01-05T17:43:12Z")
So how do you ascend? Is it, exhale, ascend, STOP, inhale, exhale, ascend, etc? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/12 "2010-01-05T17:48:31Z")
Pressure considerations aside, isn’t it [actually bad for you to breathe pure oxygen](http://www.howstuffworks.com/question493.htm)? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/13 "2010-01-05T17:54:05Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > So how do you ascend? Is it, exhale, ascend, STOP, inhale, exhale, ascend, etc? You just breathe normally the whole time. Inhaling while you ascend is fine - as long as your airway is open, the pressure will equalize itself as you go. If you’re doing a rapid ascent (which you don’t normally do, for other reasons) such that the air in your lungs is expanding at a higher rate than the lung volume is increasing as you inhale, the air will just escape, even though you think you’re inhaling. > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Pressure considerations aside, isn’t it [actually bad for you to breathe pure oxygen](http://www.howstuffworks.com/question493.htm)? Well, not as bad as suffocating. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/14 "2010-01-05T18:00:43Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Pressure considerations aside, isn’t it [actually bad for you to breathe pure oxygen](http://www.howstuffworks.com/question493.htm)? Pressure considerations can’t be set aside, as described in the link you provide: Apollo astronauts breathed pure oxygen for the entirety of their mission, but at reduced pressure; they suffered no ill effects. Premature babies breathing pure O2 sometimes suffer permanent blindness and other complications. SCUBA divers breathing ordinary atmospheric air (~20% O2) can suffer oxygen toxicity if their depth exceeds 150-200 feet. Breathing pure O2? Depths of 5-20 feet can be problematic. The important factor is the _partial_ pressure of O2 in whatever blend of gases you’re breathing, and that’s a function of the gas blend _and_ the overall pressure. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/15 "2010-01-07T09:39:07Z")
For a related example of the IP’s question re dangers of pressure blowing your face off, a 2008 Darwin award nominee put a [6-bar high-power air hose up his ass](http://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2008-22.html), “hoping to have some fun farts.” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/16 "2010-01-07T09:46:09Z")
Sorry, I meant Koxinga’s comment above.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9a140/32.png) [@foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolscap)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-breathe-from-an-air-hose-in-a-vacuum/523712/17 "2010-01-09T06:20:07Z")
In the book “suiting up for space” it tells how high flyers used to do pressure breathing, in that you let the air from the tank fill your lungs and then force it out. This requires some atmosphere in the cabin ,but, not a true vacuum.😃