One premise of my current planet-in-progress is that certain locations in the universe are inherently tied to my PIP. For example, all the people and things that have vanished in the Bermuda Triangle were transported to my PIP (how/why is irrelevant to this question).

However, acceleration due to gravity on the surface of my PIP is significantly higher than g on Earth. NASA is currently conducting a study on how microgravity impacts humans, but my question is the reverse.

How long can humans from Earth survive being unexpectedly (but safely) transported to a different, Earth-like planet with higher gravity?

An equation to calculate the survival duration vs. g increase is most welcome.

  • $\begingroup$ Actually people do experience several-g acceleration when, say, jumping. So it isn't very unnatural. When you walk in 2g environment you weight doubles, so it might be like carrying your own weight, evenly distributed. $\endgroup$ – enkryptor Mar 2 '16 at 15:34
  • $\begingroup$ @enkryptor We also experience increased g when taking turns at speed while driving. The issue here is one of duration, rather than whether it's possible. $\endgroup$ – Frostfyre Mar 2 '16 at 15:38
  • $\begingroup$ So, do you mean long-term duration? Say, decades? Moreover, you said "significantly higher" - is it 2g? 5g? 10g? $\endgroup$ – enkryptor Mar 2 '16 at 15:40
  • $\begingroup$ @enkryptor Yes, long term. I'll adjust the value of g as I need to, but my current idea is about 6g. $\endgroup$ – Frostfyre Mar 2 '16 at 15:49
  • $\begingroup$ My guess that most of the travelers will die in less than a week with 6g gravity. But I'm not an expert in medicine. $\endgroup$ – enkryptor Mar 2 '16 at 16:11

Between 1.5 g and 2 g

This previous answer: Low Tech Inertial Dampers may contain the reference materials you need (this answer has a chart for human g-tolerances over short durations).

This answer on the Space Exploration: Maximum Long Term G Force concurs. It states that a 1.5 g force for 7 days experiment was performed with no known negative side effects.

As far as the references attached to that question go, it looks like humans can survive positive g loads of between 1.5 g and 2 g indefinitely.

However, the higher g loading probably leads to shorter life times. No one has performed that test to completion yet :)

  • $\begingroup$ Warning: Shameless self-promotion ahead. :) $\endgroup$ – Frostfyre Mar 2 '16 at 16:06
  • $\begingroup$ Only on one and I looked for confirmation :P $\endgroup$ – Jim2B Mar 2 '16 at 16:09

Anyone who has gone into space(not that I have) knows that you experience 2-3 gs exiting the atmosphere. That means humans can endure up to at least 3 gs for a short period of time.

However, for longer periods of time Earth-born creatures will become shorter, stouter, and generally weaker because of the way Earth has 'spoiled' them with relatively low gravity.


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