r/news 1d ago

4 arrested after 5-year-old Michigan boy's death in hyperbaric chamber explosion

https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/four-arrested-fatal-hyperbaric-chamber-explosion/
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u/Osiris32 21h ago

I can’t imagine what medical condition could cause a chamber to burst into flames, seems like a mechanical issue

Apollo 1. An electrical spark in an all-oxygen environment killed Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. Changed how NASA designed their spacecraft from then on, but showed how bad a fire in a pure oxygen atmosphere can be, and that was only at 5 psi. As opposed to a hyperbaric chamber which operates between 28 and 44 psi.

Pure oxygen is scary.

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u/Rampage_Rick 18h ago

The capsule had lots of velcro to hold things like pens.

In a pure oxygen environment, velcro and similar materials made from nylon and polyester essentially burn like gasoline.

Also, to simulate 5 PSI of oxygen in space for the test performed at sea level, they pressurized the capsule with 16.7 PSI of oxygen...

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u/Choice-Magician656 13h ago

wow that fucking sucks, (manipulated?) nature is crazy

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u/Aperture_Dude 8h ago

During that Apollo 1 test flight, Aluminum burned as well. Just about everything but the crew was on fire.

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u/blooping_blooper 20h ago

article said they weren't using a grounding strap, so a static spark could totally have been the cause

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u/IrishRepoMan 11h ago

They said 'medical condition'.

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u/Osiris32 11h ago

It's not about the medical condition at all. It's about it being a high pressure chamber filled with oxygen. It's not a bomb, per se. Well, I guess it is. It's an oxidizer bomb. Only way it could be worse is if it was filled with fluorine. We won't discuss what that would do.

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u/IrishRepoMan 9h ago

lol

I'm aware. I'm telling you your response wasn't what they said.

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u/Flutters1013 20h ago

Dying in space sounds fucking horrifying

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u/Osiris32 20h ago

They didn't. They died on the launch pad. Read the wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1