Life at the Extremes: The Science of Survival by Frances Ashcroft

[ArcticWolf]

LIFE AT THE EXTREMES: THE SCIENCE OF SURVIVAL written by Frances Ashcroft.

unworthy; I'm not even halfway through this book, but it is fantastic!! Although this isn't strictly a military related book, it does touch constantly on that area, for obvious reasons.

It is written in a way that Joe Bloggs off the street could read it, but still stays true to the scientific roots. No one who knows me would say that I'm able to understand scientific terms easily, although I'm unusually technical for a woman, but this book really is easy to read and all scientific terms are explained in plain English.

Here are a couple of reviews of this book:


Have you ever wondered why divers get the bends while sperm whales don't, what causes altitude sickness, how firewalkers can tread on burning coals, whether women could ever run as fast as men and what to do if your hand gets stuck on freezing metal? (Urinate on the affected part.) If so, this fascinating book has the answers.



A satisfying mix of scientific explanation with tales of derring-do... Reading at times like a macable survival guide, Life at the Extremes explains what to do if caught on a sinking ship or in a depressurised aircraft, how to sleep in space and how best to survive if caught outdoors in extreme heat and cold, or in an open boat. For would-be explorers snuggles up in their armachairs - or, indeed stretched out on the beach - this book, with its many vacarious thrills makes for ideal reading.


This is the kind of book that would have made me more interested in school instead of yawning my way through it... It should become compulsory reading somewhere!! camo;

[ArcticWolf]

I've now reached the "Life in the Cold" chapter and just had to share the following from the book:


The anaesthetic properties of cold were exploited by soldiers during the great retreat from Moscow in 1812, who used their horses as a living larder. It was too cold to butcher them for food, for the men's hands were too numb and the carcasses would have frozen like iron. So, in the words of August Thirion, senior sergeant of the 2nd Cuirassiers:


We cut a slice from the quarters of horses still on their feet and walking, and these wretched animals gave not the least sign of pain, proving beyond doubt the degree of numbness and insensitivity caused by the extreme cold. Under any other conditions these slices of flesh would have brought on a haemorrhage and death, but this did not occur with 28 degrees of frost. The blood froze instantly, and this congealed blood arrested the flow. We saw some of these poor horses walking for several days with large pieces of flesh cut away from both thighs.

[Hollis]

There are several forums on this topic. One in the UK is Bush craft forum and there is one in the states. I think it more a issue of preparedness and knowledge, maybe a few other things, that will aid a person surviving in a horrific situation.

Some areas "Survivalist" has a very negative connotation. Basically from some yahoo militia types that are a good bases of a comedy.

I think it is part of our nature to want to survive, but are we able too? Do we have sufficient knowledge and are we adequately prepared to meet the challenge.

[ArcticWolf]

I hear you Hollis.

This book however does not touch on those kinds of subjects. It explains the scientific findings on physical human survival in extreme situations, in comparison with animals in some cases and the differences in ability to survive these extremes (for example cold/heat).

Another two fascinating examples from this book are the following:


Military pilots endure even greater g-forces than astronauts (a massive +25g) if they have to make an emergency ejection from a crippled aircraft, although these are sustained for a far shorter time. Pulling the firing handle first jettisons the plane's canopy and then fires the ejection gun mounted beneath the seat, launching the pilot, still strapped in his seat, into the air. Clearly, the faster the pilot can be shot out the better, but too high an acceleration damages the human spine. As a result of experiment and practical experience, it has been determined that the peak acceleration should not exceed +25g - it if does, the risk of spinal injury increases dramatically. The most modern ejector seats incorporate rockets that continue to burn for around half a second after launch, which enables the peak g-force, and thus the risk of back injury, to be reduced.



During the Second World War, the British navy used (and still does) a closed-circuit rebreathing apparatus supplied with pure oxygen. This consists of a counterlung, which is carried on the chest, and an oxygen cylinder. The counterlung is a large flexible rubber bag that expands and collapses as the diver breathes. Between the mouth and the counterlung lies a carbon dioxide scrubber (filled with soda-lime) which removes the carbon dioxide exhaled by the diver. Oxygen is fed into the counterlung to replace that used by the diver.No gas is released into water, and thus no tell-tale bubbles are formed. This is a great advantage in clandestine operations where the diver must remain undetected. It is also useful when defusing underwater mines by hand, because the bubbles may set off the mine. [...] Some people are more susceptible to oxygen toxicity than others, so the British navy currently test their new diving recruits by pressurizing them to 2 atmospheres to see whether they have a fit when given pure oxygen to breathe. Those who do so are offered a different specialist training.