Imagine that you're in dire straights. You are drowning. You body is convulsing, lungs feel aflame from the lack of oxygen. Then, with a spasm, you gasp and liquid rushes in to kill you.
Except, it does not kill you. Your body is doing just fine. That is because the liquid is not water, but perfluorohexane. The human body is actually capable of liquid breathing!
In this scenario, you would still die a little later rather than sooner, because fresh liquid needs to be circulated in constantly by external means, as God decided not to include "extracts oxygen from gaseous and liquid media effectively for prolonged periods" when writing the specifications for Human 1.0. The little bags that serve for our lungs and the supporting musculature just aren't up to the task of moving such a high density fluid, and the sorts of fluids that permit liquid breathing are more dense than water. Not to mention that it's really probably the viscosity that really kills you. No pun intended. According to the Wikipedia link above, this technology is in use already for treating premature births, because fetal lungs don't develop the ability to breath air properly until almost 2 weeks before delivery.
I became aware of the possibility of liquid breathing by watching the movie The Abyss. What a great film! Aside from the groundbreaking special effects that were used second to a plot that you couldn't stop watching, the movie starred Ed Harris (see above). He's been fantastic in many roles, and I defy anybody to claim with a straight face that they weren't cheering for him to gun down sissy Jude Law in Enemy at the Gates. A buddy (yes, another engineer) and I discussed that movie recently (I don't care if it is 18 years old!), and both wondered if liquid breathing is real. It is my friends, and what a crazy thing it is. Meditate on it.
Except, it does not kill you. Your body is doing just fine. That is because the liquid is not water, but perfluorohexane. The human body is actually capable of liquid breathing!
In this scenario, you would still die a little later rather than sooner, because fresh liquid needs to be circulated in constantly by external means, as God decided not to include "extracts oxygen from gaseous and liquid media effectively for prolonged periods" when writing the specifications for Human 1.0. The little bags that serve for our lungs and the supporting musculature just aren't up to the task of moving such a high density fluid, and the sorts of fluids that permit liquid breathing are more dense than water. Not to mention that it's really probably the viscosity that really kills you. No pun intended. According to the Wikipedia link above, this technology is in use already for treating premature births, because fetal lungs don't develop the ability to breath air properly until almost 2 weeks before delivery.
I became aware of the possibility of liquid breathing by watching the movie The Abyss. What a great film! Aside from the groundbreaking special effects that were used second to a plot that you couldn't stop watching, the movie starred Ed Harris (see above). He's been fantastic in many roles, and I defy anybody to claim with a straight face that they weren't cheering for him to gun down sissy Jude Law in Enemy at the Gates. A buddy (yes, another engineer) and I discussed that movie recently (I don't care if it is 18 years old!), and both wondered if liquid breathing is real. It is my friends, and what a crazy thing it is. Meditate on it.
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