Hypoxia and Medicine

Could you explain the vacuum in space and what space suits protect astronauts from?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but when people speak of "vacuum in space" is that referring to the absence of matter in space? (No gas molecules, etc?) I'm SO confused, bc all this time I visualized a vacuum is created in a black hole..? And just thought vacuum meant like a suctioning environment...lol (like what a vacuum cleaner does!) And I'm curious about what a space suit protects astronauts from in outer space. I know there's no oxygen out there so you can die from anoxia, but then there's ideas of people exploding because the sudden change in pressure? I'm not sure how that happens, and I've read other peoples questions and people are saying you wouldn't explode bc skin is elastic but they say stuff about all liquids would boil?..I don't get it, WHY? What is the outer space environment like...is it completely devoid of any gases?..how, why? Planets have gases that escape to outer space... Also, what's the pressure like in outer space? Please explain in super laymen terms..ie talking to a 6th grader. I'm really ignorant on this matter, lol. If pressure is not that great how would fluids boil so quickly...isn't that indicative of a significant difference in pressure? What is the temperature in outer space? Ok, so I understand how temperature is derived from atomic kinetic energy...but if outer space is "nearly a vacuum" that has (nearly) no temperature, and you radiate heat..leading to eventual freezing...are all these conjectures based on that space is infinite? Also, what I don't understand is if you're losing heat and will eventually freeze...how would all liquids in space rapidly boil?

Public Comments

1. gravity and lack of gases aren't the same thing black hole = gravity space = lack of gases, or "air" the suit is pressurized with o2 and other gases
2. a true vacuum is something completely devoid of mass and energy. space is nearly a vacuum, but there are always particles floating around out there. As for the "exploding" it wouldn't happen. The pressure difference is not that great (not great enough to cause explosive decompression), however it would cause your blood to boil as well as any other fluids in your body. The temperature in space is a tricky question. Temperature is the kinetic energy in atomic particles, in space there are none, so it is technically absolute 0 but if you introduce something that has a temperature into space it would not immidiately freeze due to the fact there are no other particles around to "wick" the energy away. It would however radiate heat until it "freezes."
3. i think the space suits provide more then they protect. they provide oxygen and temperature requirements for your body to survive. space it self is not that different from earth, except there is not breathable oxygen nor adequate temperatures. i dont think the pressure is too different either.