As regard's William White's somehow...
>> Joe Haldeman's novel _The Forever War_ relies pretty heavily
>> in one section upon g-tanks as a plot device, and so he describes
>> their workings in some detail. Essentially, all passengers are
>> fitted with a valve in their hip. They strip down, enter the g-
>> tank, and both the tank and their innards fill with a spongy,
>> oxygenated foam that somehow cushions them from the stresses of
>> high-g accelerations while not preventing them from breathing.
>> The things can malfunction, however; apparently if not properly
>> "fitted".
The whole point of these things is that the human body, being basically
a sack containing squishy things, which are relatively loose, (rather than
being a solid chunk of flesh with organs embedded in it) is very susceptible
to damage caused by *uneven* pressure - i.e. where external pressure is much
greater/less than the internal pressure. So, all these devices work along the
principle of raising the internal pressure of the body, expecially in spaces
like the lungs (c.f The 'liquid air' mixture in The Abyss), to counteract the
external pressure of the cushioning medium. Then damage can only result from
squashing actual chunks of tissue, rather than hollow objects (hearts, lungs,
small Czechoslovakian traffic wardens etc.) which are much more liable to
crumple, implode etc. The cushioning medium (which should be classed as the
internal and the external stuff) can then be raised to a high pressure to
counteract the inertia shifting of organs under high Gs. As for breathing, see
'oxygenated foam' above - seems to make sense. Maybe, for greater efficiency,
blood could be replaced with something that could still oxygenate tissue at high
pressures. (*NOT* the same problem as cryogenic freezing!)
Anyone figured out how to prevent damage to the brain? (Fill the inter-cranial
space with Jello perhaps? - Yuk!)
James. (apologising for an initial post with too many Brit references....)
" There's an old android saying which I feel is particularly relevant to this
situation. It goes: '00101010110100101101001111001010101001011011000101010'
which, roughly translated, means 'Don't stand around jabbering when your life
is in dang...hey, wait for me, you guys!"
- Kryten, Red Dwarf Series V, episode 3 "Terrorform".