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From: fred@mnetor.UUCP (Fred Williams)
Newsgroups: net.sci,net.space
Subject: Re: Re: Would a candle burn ...
Message-ID: <1661@mnetor.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 1-Aug-85 10:09:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: mnetor.1661
Posted: Thu Aug  1 10:09:06 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 1-Aug-85 11:27:17 EDT
References: <53@ssc-vax.UUCP> <1206@sjuvax.UUCP> <1816@aecom.UUCP>
Reply-To: fred@mnetor.UUCP (Fred Williams)
Distribution: net
Organization: Computer X (CANADA) Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Lines: 27
Xref: utcs net.sci:398 net.space:3828
Summary: 

In article <1816@aecom.UUCP> werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner) writes:
>> > ... in space?
>
>	You'd have to ask the Russians. As long as the Americans use a pure
>Oxygen atmosphere (they did thru Skylab, and I believe they still do), this
>is one experiment that is not going to be done on the shuttle.
>				Craig Werner

    I understand that the oxygen environment is at 1/5 atmospheric
pressure. It therefore exerts the same pressure as the partial
pressure of oxygen at ground level. Otherwise it would upset the
blood chemistry of the astronauts. Burning can then be expected
to take place with no more or less violence than here on earth.
Whether this is acceptable to shuttle astronauts is another matter.
Fires do happen on earth and if one were to start aboard the shuttle
it would be of little use to calmly walk to the nearest exit.
Also to perform the experiment the fans used to circulate the air
on the shuttle would have to be shut down, and the air given a
time to settle. Disturbances due to breathing could probably be
tolerated and it would not be too much of a problem for people there
to breath carefully to avoid inhaling the same air they just
exhaled. It would only take a minute or two for the experiment
anyway. I think it would be a good bit of PR to televise back to
earth.

Cheers,		Fred Williams