Armstrong Line

Armstrong Line

The Armstrong limit, often called Armstrong's line, is the altitude that produces an atmospheric pressure so low (0.0618 atmosphere or 6.3 kPa (1.9 inHg)) that water boils at the normal temperature of the human body: 37 °C (98.6 °F). It is named after Harry George Armstrong, who founded the U.S. Air Force’s Department of Space Medicine in 1947 at Randolph Field, Texas. Armstrong was the first to recognize this phenomenon, which occurs at an altitude beyond which humans absolutely cannot survive in an unpressurized environment. The altitude is variously reported as being between 18,900–19,350 meters (62,000–63,500 feet, or about 12 miles (10 nmi)).

Read more about Armstrong Line:  Effect On Bodily Liquids, Hypoxia Below The Armstrong Limit, Historical Significance

Famous quotes containing the words armstrong and/or line:

    “But Jonnë had a bright sword by his side,
    And it was made of the mettle so free,
    That had not the king stept his foot aside,
    He had smitten his head from his faire bodde.”
    —Unknown. Johnie Armstrong (l. 45–48)

    “A route differs from a road not only because it is solely intended for vehicles, but also because it is merely a line that connects one point with another. A route has no meaning in itself; its meaning derives entirely from the two points that it connects. A road is a tribute to space. Every stretch of road has meaning in itself and invites us to stop. A route is the triumphant devaluation of space, which thanks to it has been reduced to a mere obstacle to human movement and a waste of time.”
    —Milan Kundera (b. 1929)