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In early experiments with a primitive centrifuge, Dr. Armstrong subjected a human volunteer —himself—to forces as high as 14 positive Gs and 4½ negative Gs. He reported: "The [facial] skin is markedly red and congested . . . There are small hemorrhages beneath the skin. The skull seems as if about to burst. The eyes feel as though burned from their sockets, and there is a dry, gritty feeling to the eyelids . . . General reactions are similar to those of one who has suffered a concussion of the brain, and there may be neuromuscular incoordination, and the gait is slightly staggering . . . Mental confusion may persist for several hours."
To man's five senses, the Navy's Dr. Graybiel adds two others, both of which are thrown out of kilter by G forces: 1) the sense of balance and posture * controlled by the inner ear's semicircular canals * which is lost when a pilot stands on his ear in a turn; as a consequence he cannot tell whether a distant line is tilted or horizontal ; and 2 ) the sense of relation to gravity forces, which has its seat in a pea-sized gadget in the head called the otolith organ; when this is disturbed by fast spinning of the body, a pilot might see the Leaning Tower of Pisa straighten up and then lean over backward —a phenomenon that might make even a veteran flyer crash.
But if gravity forces are dangerous, so may be the lack of them in outer space. Says Dr. Graybiel: "I don't see how our heart-and-artery system can function in a weightless environment." He suggests a partial solution: the spaceship pilot should create his own gravity forces by flying a slightly curved or zigzag course. Better still, say others, rotate the ship.
The Only Cure
Medical men have no hope that they will ever concoct a pill to counteract gravity, or an injection to let man get along without breathing oxygen. The only solution in sight for the dangers of both altitude and gravity is to equip man with an artificial skin and artificial organs.
First is the problem of oxygen. Today's pressure masks are thoroughly effective, though cumbersome and a bit uncomfortable. Soon they may even include an automatic indicator, which the Navy is perfecting, to tell a flyer when he is not getting as much oxygen as he needs long before he would realize it himself.
At the same 30,000-ft. level where he needs pressure oxygen, a flyer needs a pressure suit. If he is in a pressurized cabin or cockpit, the suit is only insurance—in case the cabin pressure fails accidentally or is shot out.