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Re: Nostrils: a definition
james dolan (jdolan@math.ucr.edu)
28 Jul 1995 21:11:30 -0700
phil nicholls writes:
-VINCENT@REG.TRIUMF.CA (pete) wrote:
-
->Ralph L Holloway (rlh2@columbia.edu) sez:
->`On 23 Jul 1995, Colin Campbell wrote:
-
->`> I guess this explains the tragic results of the manned space program's
->`> long record of zero-gravity asphyxiations...
->` No, not at all, Colin. What it explains is that in addition to being
->`descended from aquatic apes, we are also decended from the the space
->`program of several million years ago...got some more irrelevant info for
->`us? R. Holloway.
-
->Nevertheless, he is correct. The only place gravity really comes in
->to play in breathing is on exhalation, where the weight of the
->chest can be sufficient to deflate the lungs, but there are
->muscles to assist that action, which is why we can breath in
->a weightless environment.
-
-No. The diaphragm contracts, flattening out and decreasing air
-pressure in the thorax. Air enters the lungs because the air pressure
-outside is higher than that inside the lungs. When the diaphragm
-relaxes it curves up into the chest, decreasing the volume of the
-thorax and increasing air pressure.
-
-In space (and aircraft) the cabin is pressurized.
-
-When you climb a mountain or visit high altitudes, you have trouble
-breathing. It's not because the air is "thin". The air pressure is
-less, so you don't have as much force pushing it into your lungs.
your post would have been ok if only that "no" had been a "yes"; you
didn't seem to notice that campbell's and vincent's criticism of
holloway's post was right on the mark and that your comments only
reinforce that criticism.
i'm sure you guys know much more about paleoanthropology than the rest
of us, but your attempts at basic physics appear a bit comical.
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