Timeline for Is it real to patch an opening to the vacuum with plastic tarp and duct tape as in Martian?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
22 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Sep 28, 2021 at 9:10 | comment | added | CuteKItty_pleaseStopBArking | "depending on it's composition which is not clear from the movie". I thought the displays on +every+ +single+ log entry showing pressure and oxygen to 4 digits (12.47Psi), and oxygen (20.68%) were pretty clear. That's normal air for 4000ft altitude, or about 85% of sealevel normal, with normal oxygen ratio. | |
| Feb 12, 2018 at 16:54 | answer | added | Mitchell | timeline score: 5 | |
| Jan 27, 2016 at 13:55 | vote | accept | Dims | ||
| Jan 27, 2016 at 13:27 | comment | added | uhoh | The question is about the film, and in the film they didn't send just anybody, they sent Matt Damon. I think that can explain any discrepancy. | |
| Jan 27, 2016 at 8:31 | comment | added | James Thorpe | Scanned over the book again last night. The actual details of the repair are really skimmed over (just along the lines of "I fixed and repressurised the hab") but he used "seal-strips and spare hab canvas". I think the "seal-strips" may have been described in a little more detail elsewhere, but I get the impression they're a sort of double sided sticky tape but with something like the resin on the emergency suit repair kit | |
| Jan 27, 2016 at 8:19 | comment | added | Federico | its composition | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 21:29 | comment | added | James | In the book, Watney uses a sort of super-glue type resin to fix both the hab and his one-armed suit. It's especially memorable because he accidentally glues his hand to his helmet at one point. | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 21:19 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/StackSpaceExp/status/692094478862176257 | ||
| Jan 26, 2016 at 15:50 | comment | added | Hobbes | you're right, you can't add the tensile strength like that. | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 15:40 | comment | added | James Thorpe | @Hobbes Right, been a while since I did that sort of math. But I'm not sure 20cm wide tape would work as all the stress would still be in one line across the join in canvases? Rather you'd need something like at least 10 layers of it, with outer layers being wider to still stick to the canvas, where each layer is then capable of taking 5.6kg/cm for a total of 56kg? | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 15:31 | comment | added | Hobbes | @JamesThorpe: 560N/100mm translates to 56 kg/10cm, so 5.6 kg/cm, i.e. you need a strip of tape 20 cm long applied at a right angle to (across instead of along) the tear. Blanketing the entire tear with a patch of duct tape 20 cm wide should work. | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 13:31 | history | edited | PearsonArtPhoto♦ |
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| Jan 26, 2016 at 13:27 | answer | added | PearsonArtPhoto♦ | timeline score: 21 | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 13:19 | comment | added | PearsonArtPhoto♦ | You are right about that... I remember now, the hab was fixed by some sort of glue in the book, don't remember anything about tape... | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 13:18 | comment | added | James Thorpe | @PearsonArtPhoto That 4 minutes was the fix to the suit which was leaky through the cut off arm, not to the fix on the large hole in the hab which was still needed for some time | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 13:17 | comment | added | PearsonArtPhoto♦ | I think in the book it was described as a very temporary solution that was sufficient for I think 4 minutes of life support, which it might be able to do. I think it more held the pieces together than filled the hole, which would help some... | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 13:10 | comment | added | James Thorpe | @TildalWave Haha... what's really annoying me is I know for a fact that I read this part just last night, but I have no recollection about how the fix was actually described in the book! | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 13:09 | history | edited | Dims | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Jan 26, 2016 at 13:05 | comment | added | TildalWave | @JamesThorpe Sure, if he'd do it to machine precision with absolutely no defects, it could hold it until the duct tape's glue loses all elasticity due to temperature differential (shouldn't take too long). Of course, our protagonist has done that in a pressure suit, in dusty environment and around an opening that is too big to easily reach. And I have no idea how he'd have done it at the bottom. | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 12:57 | comment | added | James Thorpe | @TildalWave This data sheet seems to indicate a tensile strength of 560N/100mm, which would be slightly above 51.66kg/cm? So sounds plausible? | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 12:29 | comment | added | TildalWave | 1 atm is ~ 10,332 kg/m², and circular opening of a 2 m diameter (1 m radius) has a surface area of π m². It would have to support around 32,459 kg of pressure. Around 51,66 kg for every cm of the opening's circumference. If a botanist can do that in a pressurized suit with duct tape and some tarp, I'm afraid I'll have to fire my plumber. :) | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 12:13 | history | asked | Dims | CC BY-SA 3.0 |