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Human factors in commercial suborbital flight: What does acceleration do to the human body?
The Space Review ^ | 07/05/05 | John Jurist

Posted on 07/05/2005 6:01:47 PM PDT by KevinDavis

Because human tissues are viscoelastic (material properties that vary with strain rate), the response of the body to acceleration varies with duration of exposure. In general, acceleration pulses of 0.2 seconds or less are considered to be “impacts,” while acceleration durations of more than perhaps two seconds are considered to be “prolonged.”

During impact accelerations, acceleration tolerance increases as the exposure duration decreases. Consequently, the best indicator of injury potential for impact accelerations is “delta-V”, or impact-related speed change. For prolonged acceleration exposures, body fluid shifts become relatively important, and tend to dominate the deleterious effects of acceleration.

(Excerpt) Read more at thespacereview.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: space; suborbital

1 posted on 07/05/2005 6:01:48 PM PDT by KevinDavis
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To: RightWhale; Brett66; xrp; gdc314; anymouse; RadioAstronomer; NonZeroSum; jimkress; discostu; ...

2 posted on 07/05/2005 6:02:53 PM PDT by KevinDavis (the space/future belongs to the eagles, the earth/past to the groundhogs)
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To: KevinDavis

I'm feeling out of breath and a tightness in my chest just reading this. Even though I didn't understand much of it.


3 posted on 07/05/2005 6:11:14 PM PDT by jwalburg (If I have not seen as far as others, it is because of the giants standing on my shoulders.)
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To: KevinDavis
What does acceleration do to the human body?

Simple - prevents muscle atrophy and bone degradation.

Anyone who has ever picked up a physics text and worked through the equations contained therein knows that we on the ground experience a constant acceleration of 1 gravity.

Sorry - couldn't resist. ;-D

But I would like to be added to the SPACE PING list, please.

4 posted on 07/05/2005 6:34:20 PM PDT by FierceDraka (The Democratic Party - Aiding and Abetting The Enemies of America Since 1968)
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To: KevinDavis

That's nice.


5 posted on 07/05/2005 6:41:15 PM PDT by boris (The deadliest weapon of mass destruction in history is a leftist with a word processor.)
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To: jwalburg

I know every time we went to the amusement park and got on one of the spinning rides, my brother usually puked.


6 posted on 07/05/2005 6:43:12 PM PDT by Boiler Plate
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To: KevinDavis

Will it affect my spastic colon?


7 posted on 07/05/2005 6:45:09 PM PDT by TheGeezer
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To: TheGeezer; All

I don't know, however, if you have a heart condition, I advise you not to go....


8 posted on 07/05/2005 6:47:07 PM PDT by KevinDavis (the space/future belongs to the eagles, the earth/past to the groundhogs)
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To: KevinDavis

I do not, but the trip would likely give me one...

[hold it, hold it, hold it, dammit...you can do it, hold it...]


9 posted on 07/05/2005 6:54:23 PM PDT by TheGeezer
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To: FierceDraka

You beat me to it! :)


10 posted on 07/05/2005 7:02:21 PM PDT by The Duke
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To: The Duke

I would also add that an acceleration of 1G will get you to Mars pretty darn quickly (even accounting for the fact that negative acceleration must begin when you're half way there).


11 posted on 07/05/2005 7:03:19 PM PDT by The Duke
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To: KevinDavis
It's the rapid deceleration that's a biiiiotch!
12 posted on 07/05/2005 7:39:53 PM PDT by taxed2death (A few billion here, a few trillion there...we're all friends right?)
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