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For purposes of this discussion, assume NO use of fluid immersion or increasing the pressure of the breathing gas to counteract the external pressures on the pilot, nor putting the pilot in any kind of stasis or anything of that sort, though anti-g flight suits such as those worn by fighter pilots can be used if it would help. The pilot WILL also, however, be able to take brief 1g breaks as often as needed for hydration, eating, bathroom breaks and so on (say 10-20 minutes or so? Longer only if physical limitations otherwise make make this scenario impossible). Assume also that the pilot is lying flat on their back, or as near to it as required, with actual direction of thrust coming "from spine to sternum" as it were. The goal is approximately 5 days of 5g acceleration, including the 1g breaks as previously described. Is such a scenario even feasible?

Note: This IS NOT the same as the question I posted previously here: Could a human survive 5Gs for about two days using existing or near future technology?. Most of the answers in that question revolved around either fluid immersion or increasing the pressure of the breathing gas to counteract the external pressures on the pilot, two conditions that I am specifically trying to exclude in this scenario. Moreover, I am also concerned about whether periodic breaks at 1g would affect the outcome, which was not really touched on in the original question. The story that I am working on has come to include a second spacecraft, which has different parameters than the one I had in mind when asking the first question, so I decided to ask anew.

L.Dutch
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White76Knight
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  • This seems very similar to this question https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/74052/could-a-human-survive-5gs-for-about-two-days-using-existing-or-near-future-techn?rq=1 you asked four years ago, some of the answers to which meet your more restrictive parameters. What are you hoping to get from this question that wasn't in the previous answers? – KerrAvon2055 Apr 24 '21 at 07:57
  • Most of the answers in that question revolved around either fluid immersion or increasing the pressure of the breathing gas to counteract the external pressures on the pilot, two conditions that I am specifically trying to exclude in this scenario. Moreover, I am also concerned about whether periodic breaks at 1g would affect the outcome, which was not really touched on in the original question. The story that I am working on has come to include a second spacecraft, which has different parameters than the one I had in mind when asking the first question, so I decided to ask anew. – White76Knight Apr 24 '21 at 08:03
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    The answers to your previous question also focus solely on the two-day period mentioned in the title; none of them seem to discuss the maximum length of time a human could survive for. I personally think this can be re-opened, though it will need editing because currently, 60% of it is a rant about the dupe-closure. – F1Krazy Apr 24 '21 at 09:26
  • 26 views and 4 reopen votes already, wow. People vs script mod, eh? LoL – MolbOrg Apr 24 '21 at 18:36
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    Yeah, I probably COULD have this reopened, but at this point I'm just not sure it's worth my time. The fact that within an hour I tried to post the same question, not once but twice, and despite clearly stating that the question was not the same as one previously posted, had BOTH closed before anyone even had a chance to reply, pretty much told me everything I need to know about the way things run around here. I think I'm done here. Have a nice day, y'all. – White76Knight Apr 24 '21 at 23:32

1 Answers1

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Probably, but with lots of breaks. Also your pilot would be effectively dead on arrival

There is currently no conclusive research on continuous high G effects on the body since no real world examples exist. The one case that does exist is in fighter pilots, for who the G effects are intermittent. The easiest way to deal with Gs is with Anti-strain G maneuvers. This will let your pilot deal with Gs in the 5 G range with less physical strain. This strain is what will kill your pilot. Most people are recommended not to exceed 150 minutes of vigorous exercise a day. Even elite athletes do not spend literally all day training and training every muscle at the same time. Also, to maintain your G tolerance you will need a full night's sleep which it is inadvisable to do at much more than one G.

So, the best way to perform this is to have a few seconds of high G a few seconds of low G, then repeat. You will not get more than 8 hours a day, but you won't die. At least not on the first day. 8 hours of high G maneuvers will be the equivalent of many hours of vigorous exercise, even lying down. You won't have to worry about under exercising, you need to worry about over exercising, exhaustion and muscle fatigue. Sure your pilot might have ruined arm muscles at the end of this, but the muscle you need to worry about is the diaphragm. If that muscle tires from the excessive anti G strain maneuvers your pilot will eventually suffocate. Not from lack of oxygen but effectively from the paralyzed diaphragm.

Your pilot would need to do this routine for 11 days to get the delta v of 5 G for 5 days. Nearly two weeks of that may be survivable, but your pilot would be doing the exercise regime of an Olympian. Meaning to survive your pilot is already an Olympian or will be ddevastatedby the continuous strain on their body. Normal fighter pilots also have neck and spine injuries from the strain, so your pilots skeletal system would also be massively hurt.

Your pilot would be effectively dead on arrival. They will need zero G therapy to undo the skeletal damage with a normal exercise regime to rebuild muscle. The phycological trauma of continuously doing the anti G strain maneuvers would also take time to heal and might affect the 8 hours of sleep they can get during the flight.

But yes, the pilot's body could be transported like this.