One thought on “Under Pressure

  1. i don’t think you get to feel much of the atmospheric pressure when flying at 32000 feet with regular planes.
    if you looked at the pressure at 32000 feet it would be about 280 mBar, which would mean a partial pressure of oxygen of 6%. (see http://www.csgnetwork.com/pressurealtcalc.html).
    The usual partial pressure at ground level is about 21%.
    A person requires a partial pressure of oxygen of min 14% or 160% max to not be either hypo of hyperoxic, so no ordinary person could be conscious outside of the airplane breathing regular air at such hight.
    It is a nice experiment though. I used to try to do it in the mountains when skiing but the effect was not nearly as visible =]

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