What Would Happen If The World Lost Oxygen For 5 Seconds?

Have you ever wondered what would happen if the entire world was without oxygen for just 5 seconds? The 5-second shortage of oxygen is vital to the survival of all living things. Without oxygen, no lifeforms could function. 

The Sky During the Day Would Get Dark

When light particles bounce off the dust, oxygen molecules, other impurities in the air, and other things, they are reflected or partly refracted back to the Sun. The atmosphere has less dust and other things for the light to bounce on, and thus it would appear dark, almost black as it would if there were no oxygen.

The rays of the Sun appear to spread out in all directions, as opposed to being concentrated at one point as the Sun does. 

Earth’s Crust Would Crumble

Without oxygen, the Earth would presumably disappear, and we would probably fall to the ground. 

Everyone’s Inner Ear Would Explode

A sudden change in air pressure is equivalent to almost instantly jumping from sea level to nearly 2000m, preventing the ears from adapting to the changes. We would experience barotrauma, an injury to the ears stemming from a failure to equalize the pressure of an air-filled space with that of the surrounding environment.

A severe change in pressure usually causes barotrauma. It is especially true in deep-sea diving or air travel, in which we experience as if our ears have become clogged up (i.e., a blockage of oxygen). We would, however, experience much worse consequences if we were not oxygen-dependent.

The Oceans Will Start Evaporating Into Space

Without the 33% oxygen, water would be free of hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas would rise to the upper troposphere and slowly bleed out into space, as it is the lightest gas. If the Earth became a massive planet of only deserts in almost no time, we could potentially become a massive planet without too much trouble and our precious oxygen.

Vehicles With Internal Combustion Engines Would Stop Working

Every car that runs on anything resembling a conventional engine (everything but electric vehicles) would cease to function if there weren’t enough oxygen for the combustion process. We would see aeroplanes, helicopters, and even space shuttles falling from the sky for the same reason. 

Untreated Metals Would Become Welded

The cold-welding procedure, in which small metallic objects are welded together directly, without pre-misting the two items, is based on the principle that vacuum conditions facilitate welding. Metal is not welded on contact because a protective oxidation layer protects it. On the other hand, the cold-welding procedure requires no intermediate liquid phase. Because oxygen is absent in a vacuum, these metals can fuse. 

Every Structure Made of Concrete Would Crumble

Oxygen is a fundamental binder in structures made of concrete. In its absence,  compounds do not hold their rigidity. We already know that oxygen is essential for survival, but losing it even for 5 seconds can be dangerous, if not fatal.

Human Body Would Not Function

Without oxygen, the blood cannot carry vital nutrients and gases throughout the body. If this event happened on a large scale, there would be mass chaos in all of our cities. The muscles would not be able to move, and the brain would die. 

The World’s Economy Would Collapse

Our world runs on many different things depending on our atmosphere filled with oxygen. Cars run on gas, computers run on electricity, air conditioners and fridges depend on refrigerants made from ammonia or ammonia-based plastics, and even paper is made from wood pulp that requires a lot of carbon dioxide to be produced. So without oxygen, all of these things will cease to exist!

To put it simply: without oxygen, we can’t live! Without oxygen, there will be mass panic in every city across the globe as people try desperately to find a way out of their situation. And if they can’t find it? Well, they’ll have to deal with it!

All Life Will Die 

If we lose 5 seconds’ worth of oxygen in the atmosphere, all lifeforms will die within minutes due to suffocation or lack of essential nutrients and gases. Plants also rely heavily on carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, so if we lose 5 seconds’ worth of carbon dioxide, then plants will also die off on their own.

Our Planet Will Become Uninhabitable

We may be able to live on Mars, but that won’t stop the Sun from burning our planet into a cinder in hours! And if we’re not living on Mars, then there’s no way we can survive on Earth. We’ll all die within minutes because there will be no oxygen and no carbon dioxide to keep us alive.

Our atmosphere would turn into a vacuum, and we’d be sucked into the Sun like a leaf in the wind! Our entire world would be turned into a dust bowl due to a lack of oxygen, and all lifeforms would die within minutes after that.

The Solar System Will Become Uninhabitable

If we lose 5 seconds’ worth of oxygen in our atmosphere, other planets in our solar system will eventually run out of oxygen! So if we take away 5 seconds’ worth of oxygen from all planets across the solar system, they will all eventually turn into dust bowls, with all lifeforms dying due to lack of oxygen.

Suppose we don’t start thinking about this now. In that case, it’s too late because once our atmosphere reaches this critical amount of time without oxygen, it’ll immediately kill off every living thing on Earth, including animals and humans, within minutes. 

Earth Will Be Destroyed By The Sun

Let’s take away 5 seconds’ worth of oxygen from our atmosphere. It means that it will destroy our entire planet by the Sun in the following ways: 

1) The Sun’s heat will instantly turn all water on Earth into steam. 

2) The Sun’s light and heat will instantly make all land on Earth into a desert.

 3) The Sun’s light and heat will instantly make all living things on Earth (including animals and humans) into a pile of dust. 

4) The Sun’s light and heat will evaporate all water in Earth’s oceans.

 5) The Sun’s light and heat will evaporate all land in Earth’s oceans.

 6) All lifeforms on Earth (including animals and humans) would die due to a lack of oxygen within minutes after that.

Conclusion

The Earth’s atmosphere is the primary source of oxygen in the universe, and it is essential for life as we know it. Without it, there wouldn’t be any life on our planet, let alone anywhere else in the universe. Without oxygen, our world would be a wasteland.

If we lose 5 seconds’ worth of air to space, all life forms on Earth will die within minutes. The rest of the solar system will become uninhabitable. Even planets orbiting other stars will become uninhabitable if they can’t maintain their atmospheres or if clouds of dust do not cover them. The Earth would collapse into a black hole! If that happens, then all lifeforms on this planet (including humans) will die within minutes due to lack of oxygen and nothing but darkness.

If you liked this, check out Exploring the Murky World of Parallel Universes: Are We Living In A Multiverse?