What happens to the human body at crush depth?

Answer 1

At 2350 psi which is the pressure roughly one mile below sea level, the human body would implode internally due to the outside pressure caving in on the body. Thus the internal organs/blood circulatory system would rupture due to the obvious pressure differences.

Answer 2

On earth, in its rather shallow oceans? No actual crushing could occur. But if you are asking about death brought on by the sorts of pressures one could encounter in a deep ocean trench ...

The quick answer is: we don't know, because we have not tried it, yet. But Probably, spending too much time at two or three thousand atmospheres would do you some serious harm. Six thousand atmospheres would probably kill one rather fast, but it would take 26 miles of water to make that, and the deepest ocean we got is less than seven miles. But in any case death would only be caused by mechanical chemical-denaturation of some of your more fragile proteins. So, you would feel real sick and then die, but you would not perceive any sense of a crushing pressure.

This is because typical earthly pressures on solids and liquids cause little or no measurable compression -- they do not appreciably change their density, unlike with gases.

The current record for human tolerance is 2300 feet of simulated sea water (68 atmospheres) by persons in a hyperbolic chamber. See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturation_diving

High Pressure Processing (HPP) is a method of food processing where food is subjected to elevated pressures (up to 87,000 pounds per square inch or approximately 6,000 atmospheres or 39 miles of water). Pressure inactivates most vegetative bacteria at pressures above 60,000 pounds per square inch or 4,083 atmospheres - or 26 miles of water.

The deepest slot in the deepest trench of the ocean is less than seven miles deep. That's 36,200 feet, compared to the 2,300 foot current record. It's no where near the 26 miles needed to kill most bacteria, but could it kill people? Maybe.

So, in the movie "The Abyss" they did a pretty good job with the science of deep diving.

Answer 3

As you go deep in sea water you have to carry your oxygen with you. When the pressure increases the gases start getting dissolved in your body fluid. The air in lungs is compressible and have equal pressure as water around you. When you come to surface suddenly, you may die of sudden release of air bubbles in various parts of your body. So you have to come slowly from deep water to surface. Carbon bi oxide being soluble does not create the problem but the oxygen and nitrogen do create it.

Answer 4

At crush depth, the pressure is so great that it can cause the collapse of the lungs or rupture of organs due to the extreme pressure difference between the body and the surrounding water. The intense pressure can also lead to severe internal injuries, such as fractures and tissue damage. Ultimately, the human body is not able to withstand crush depths and will not survive without specialized equipment.

Answer 5

It goes splat, I think that's the scientific term. Hope that helps.

Answer 6

Step on a bug and watch what happens.