Effects of Explosive Decompression on the Human Body?

Many science fiction stories, movies, and shows involve characters undergoing explosive decompression, the technical term for a rapid drop in pressure, usually all the way to a vacuum. Frequently, this is used as capital punishment, since shoving someone out the airlock without a suit is an efficient way of killing them in space. However, most of these depictions of explosive decompression, as well as most sources I have been able to find on the subject, disagree wildly on the specifics. Some involve the skin freezing and/or frosting over (probably wildly inaccurate, as a vacuum is actually the best possible thermal insulator), some describe blood boiling and eyeballs exploding, and some show no outward changes as the victim appears to suffocate.

The question is, what would actually happen to a person suddenly launched into space? Additionally, would the results change significantly if the victim is in sunlight, as opposed to shadow?

posted almost 6 years ago

Gryphon‭

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