Posted on 06/03/2019 1:37:09 PM PDT by BenLurkin
60-year-old had suffered an ascending aortic dissection, a potentially fatal rupture in the inner wall of the major artery that pumps blood away from the heart to the rest of the body. As a result, he quickly needed surgery to repair the tear. But the man’s underlying lung problems, particularly his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), would complicate the procedure in an unexpected way.
In order to reach his heart, the doctors had to crack open his sternum—the bone smack in the middle of our chest. But the man’s right lung was stuck to the sternum, with bits of damaged lung tissue called bullae being the main problem. Bullae are blisters filled with air that often form in people with COPD. And as the doctors tried to carefully pull off the right lung from the sternum, they punctured one of these bullae, causing a major air leak. To make sure the patient wouldn’t go into respiratory distress (a condition where the lungs fill up with fluid, effectively drowning you), more anesthesia was pumped into the patient and the flow of air he was receiving via a ventilator was changed to 100 percent oxygen.
Part of the surgery required the use of an electrocautery, a device that uses heat to burn away or cut through tissue. There was also a dry surgical pack near the man’s chest cavity, a bundle used to carry sterilized surgical instruments. Soon after the man’s air was changed, a spark from the device landed on the dry pack and—thanks to the very oxygen-rich air around the man’s chest—created the flash fire.
(Excerpt) Read more at gizmodo.com ...
Talk about your heart burn!
I know a few people who might catch on fire this way.
From all the fat greasy food they eat. They say the heart is a muscle. And muscles do get fat.
I think Joseph Priestly discovered that long before Apollo 1.
A cartridge will fire underwater. No external oxygen is needed.
But a shooter in space would get a very bad surprise if he failed to account for the kick.
And Mr. Sung’s dynasty team learned about oxidizes even before that.
Gunpowder and other cartridge loads are self contained in terms of oxidizer in the propellant. Therefore, they will operate properly in the vacuum of space.
To answer your question, you don’t actually need gaseous oxygen for combustion, but if you don’t have that you need some other oxidizer, which is usually a chemical that releases oxygen as part of a reaction with your fuel source.
Gunpowder already contains an oxidizer in the form of saltpetre, or potassium nitrate, so it should still work in outer space. However, if you fire your gun up there you are essentially setting off a very small solid rocket engine, so it will potentially mess up your orbit!
Oh thanks a rot...I have an ascending aortic aneurysm that’s like walking around with a grenade in your chest. Mine has been stable and not growing since discovered in 2008. If ruptures or tears it’s almost always finis. Drs. Monitoring for growth over the years and any further enlargement would mean ye olde chest cracker surgery. Don’t get one of these.
The gun will fire. Gunpowder does not require oxygen or the presence of atmosphere in order to burn. Gunpowder is an explosive based upon nitroglycerin, which does not not burn in the traditional sense. It decomposes into gasses very quickly, adding heat from the broken chemical bonds. A gun can be fired under water.
Smokeless powder does not include oxygen in those molecules. Those are nitrogen based compounds. Smokeless powders are nitroglycerin compounds. Did you notice the “nitro”, for nitrogen?
Smokeless powder is cellulose trinitrate. The oxygen comes from the cellulose and the nitrate radical.
Yay, the prize goes to both of us, just like in soccer.
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