X-Message-Number: 3202
Date: 03 Oct 94 03:33:11 EDT
From: Bob Smart <>
Subject: CRYONICS: Brain Jelly

> Why aren't we all crushed?  Because the pressure is exerted in all
> directions and is therefore "self-equalizing."...Application of 20,000
> atmospheres to a cubic foot of water would do no harm...If the cubic
> foot of water contained a brain, the equalization of pressure in all
> directions could mean that the brain is simply turned into a solid state,
> without being "crushed."
 
First off, I didn't use the word "crushed," I said "turn to jelly."  You're
right about pressure being applied in all directions, of course, and a brain
may well be watery enough to exhibit relative indifference to pressure just
as you propose.  My concern isn't over the absolute pressure, so much as it
is the RATE of application of that pressure.  20,000 atmospheres in less
than a second is a pretty rapid compression; I envision a shock wave
traveling inward through the tissue, creating whatever havoc a seismic
disturbance in brain tissue can create.
 
> I think potential damages due to rapid application of pressure cannot be
> as great as those due to freezing damage.
 
Seems to me, there ought to be an answer (or at least a hint toward the
answer) available in the hyperbaric literature somewhere.  I can't believe
there hasn't been some research somewhere about the effects and propagation
of shock waves through various kinds of gelatinous masses undergoing rapid
compression; that ought to give us at least some ballpark estimate of the
relative havoc of freezing vs. compression.  We can certainly agree that
freezing is pretty violent--but why do you say sudden compression ought to
be less so?

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