X-Message-Number: 4772
From:  (David L Evens)
Newsgroups: sci.cryonics
Subject: Re: Blue Blood
Date: 12 Aug 1995 20:42:28 GMT
Message-ID: <40j3nk$>
References: <404kms$> <>


In article <> Garret Smyth 
() wrote:
:            "yvan Bozzonetti" writes:
: 
:> Ice expansion is a real problem for large object such a corpse.
:
:I understand that this *isn't* a problem. Physical damage is caused because
:of the way crystals grow. The edges push tiny structures and either prise them

:apart or puncture them. This is why most tissue cells can be frozen in solution

:but whole organs are damaged. Any solvent that forms crystals (ie freezes) will
:tend to have the same problem whether it expands or contracts. Getting the
:solvent to form a glass is the trick which is what all the talk about
:"vitrification" is about.

Actually, there is a LOT of mechical damage at the macroscopic scale if a 
whole body is placed in cryogenic suspension.  According to the FAQ, at 
least one whole-body patient has been examined and found to have 
extensive fracturing of internal organs, including the spinal cord 
(remember, CNS tissues show great tolerance for freezing and thawing in 
lab experiments).

 ---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
Ring around the neutron,   |  "OK, so he's not terribly fearsome.
A pocket full of positrons,|   But he certainly took us by surprise!"
A fission, a fusion,       +--------------------------------------------------
We all fall down!          |  "Is his name 'Dick Earth'?"
 ---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
e-mail will be posted as I see fit.
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