O2 and Cypriot airliner crash

Bucky wrote:
wrote:
40,000 15 seconds
35.000 20 seconds
30,000 30 seconds

I don't get it. Can't a person stay conscious for longer than 30
seconds without breathing? Most people can hold their breath for over
a minute.

If you try to hold your breath your lungs will explode when the outside
pressure drops. That's why in altitude chambers they never tell you when
they're going to give the explosive decompression. When it happens the air
in your lungs automatically expels from your body since it is at a much
higher pressure than the ambient air. Pressure breathing through an oxygen
mask is difficult since your must manually forcibly exhale and just relax to
inhale.

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Darrell R. Schmidt
B-58 Hustler History: http://members.cox.net/dschmidt1/
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