Suffocation in a Stateroom

phavoc

Emperor Mongoose
I was trying to do some back of the envelope calculations on how long a person could survive in a stateroom if the life support had failed. Assuming I did my math right, a person would become unconscious in about 8hrs in 1 dton, with their capabilities being severely reduced within just a few hours (and, of course, their activity could reduce it faster). Extrapolating that out, I figured a 4dton cabin would allow for about 32hrs of consciousness. Though if you go by deckplans it should be more like 24hrs since they are only 3x2.

I found some different sets of calculations, some were using pure oxygen in the room, which isn't practical, and others were less than helpful. This one (http://kimberlymoynahan.com/2012/04/friday-fiction-facts-trapped-in-an-airtight-room/) was rather nice because it also described the effects as the CO2 built up in the room. The author also brings up a valuable point that the effects of CO2 buildup take some time to go away.
 
Next question is are non-bulkhead partitions air tight? When you close the door, does it separate and seal environments or does air and other things get under the door?
 
I would assume that the entryway would be airtight for staterooms. They may not do as well under explosive decompression, but from a safety factor it would be a great safety thing.
 
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