Blood would boil on Mars because of the extremely low atmospheric pressure.
Mars has a very thin atmosphere compared to Earth, which results in significantly lower atmospheric pressure. This low pressure means that the boiling point of liquids, including water and blood, is drastically reduced.
Here's a breakdown:
- Low Atmospheric Pressure: The Martian atmosphere is only about 1% as dense as Earth's. This creates an atmospheric pressure so low that liquids can boil at much lower temperatures.
- Boiling Point Reduction: Under Earth's atmospheric pressure, water boils at 100°C (212°F). However, under the Martian atmospheric pressure, water would boil at temperatures well below the human body temperature of 37°C (98.6°F). The same principle applies to blood, which contains water.
- Ebullism: The phenomenon of bodily fluids, like blood and saliva, boiling due to drastically reduced pressure is called ebullism. Without a pressurized spacesuit, a human on Mars would experience ebullism. The boiling blood creates bubbles, and can lead to major medical emergencies.
- Not Incineration: It's crucial to clarify that blood doesn't "boil" in the same way water does on a stove. It's not necessarily a hot boiling, but rather a change of state (liquid to gas) caused by the low pressure. The blood doesn't instantly incinerate.
Therefore, the primary reason blood would boil on Mars is the extremely low atmospheric pressure, which causes the boiling point of liquids to plummet below the human body temperature.
