what if any effect would you experiance if you were elevated to 16,000 feet and were unprotected.?

Question

it's from the old gem of the deck chair and weather balloons and a friend refuses to accept it is an urban myth. can any one give some scientific proof that debunks this

Answer 1

you would feel very cold and agitated
( hypothermia would soon set in)

severe air hunger ( low oxygen)
the brain starved of oxygen

would render you unconscious/ and death may follow .

However to be in a hot air balloon or such like vehicle,

with adequate (clothing )i insulation and oxygen on hand
Is an exhilarating experience ; and one to aspire to

the views are fantastic , and the silence golden
( in between, the whoosh of the burners )


>^,,^<

Answer 2

Have spent some time around 16,000 ft. It can be very cold so if you were sunning yourself in the back garden on your deck chair when you took off then I'd be worried about the hypothermia.

As for oxygen starvation...not really. You would find it hard to breathe if you were trying to do anything active....I once tried to play football with some local Peruvians at 16,000 ft and nearly passed out running down the wing.....odd experience with Llamas on the pitch....

But sitting in a deck chair....not much exertion involved unless you have a particularly heavy cocktail to hand I guess.

Main worry aside from freezing your **** off would be altitude sickness from too rapid an ascent, not giving your body time to adjust. So I guess if you were:

a) a skinny, semi-naked guy or gal doing something physical you might be in trouble

b) a rotund person that was well wrapped up and quietly admiring the view, you might be ok.... that is assuming you don't get hit by a passing aircraft of course.

Answer 3

http://home.earthlink.net/~quade/lawnchair.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawnchair_Larry

"He was immediately arrested by waiting members of the LAPD; when asked why he had done it by a reporter, Walters replied "a man can't just sit around". He was later fined US$4,000 by the Federal Aviation Administration for violations of the Federal Aviation Act"
"Walters also received the top prize from the Bonehead Club of Dallas for his adventure, as well as invitations to The Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman and an honourable mention in 1982's Darwin Awards. His lawn-chair balloon was also featured in an episode of Mythbusters."

Sorry dude, you lost the bet.

Answer 4

Think about it. Pike's Peak, in Colorado is about that high. I went to the top of it when I was about 8 years old. The experience does not seem to be retained, so I guess that it was not that traumatic.

Answer 5

About 19,000 feet is the point where the air is thin enough that you may pass out other than that it will be very cold not much else.

Answer 6

you will be fine, a little out of breath, above 25000 is call the death zone, and you will be seriously impaired with too little air to you brain, mountaineers have climbed mt Everest almost 29000ft without oxygen

Answer 7

well be like going on a jet plane but not protecting it must feel really uncomfortable proberly air sickness due to gravity pulling and pushing, cold, you proberly feel really heavey too and breathless. beeen on a glider with the window open and it was horrible

Answer 8

You would be pretty cold and findit harder to breathe. Then some planes would try and shoot you down.

Answer 9

u would find it very hard to breathe