red-out
Loss of consciousness due to blood being forced to the head -- most commonly by negative G forces incurred while flying military aircraft. The vision is clouded in red before consciousness is lost.
The g is used primarily in aerospace fields, where it is a convenient magnitude when discussing the loads on aircraft and spacecraft (and their pilots or passengers). For instance, most civilian aircraft are capable of being stressed to 4.33 g (42.5 m/s²; 139 ft/s²), which is considered a safe value. The g is also used in automotive engineering, mainly in relation to cornering forces and collision analysis.
One often hears the term being applied to the limits that the human body can withstand without losing conciousness, sometimes referred to as "blacking out", or g-loc (loc stands for loss of consciousness). A typical person can handle about 5 g (50 m/s²) before this occurs, but through the combination of special g-suits and efforts to strain muscles —both of which act to force blood back into the brain— modern pilots can typically handle 9 g (90 m/s²) or more.
Resistance to "negative" or upward gees which drive blood to the head, is much less. This limit is typically in the -2 to -3 g (-20 to -30 m/s²) range. The vision goes red and is also referred to as a "red-out". This is probably due to capillaries in the eyes bursting under the increased blood pressure. Humans can survive brief intervals of about 20 to 40 g, and any exposure to around 100 g or more is lethal. -Wikipedia
One often hears the term being applied to the limits that the human body can withstand without losing conciousness, sometimes referred to as "blacking out", or g-loc (loc stands for loss of consciousness). A typical person can handle about 5 g (50 m/s²) before this occurs, but through the combination of special g-suits and efforts to strain muscles —both of which act to force blood back into the brain— modern pilots can typically handle 9 g (90 m/s²) or more.
Resistance to "negative" or upward gees which drive blood to the head, is much less. This limit is typically in the -2 to -3 g (-20 to -30 m/s²) range. The vision goes red and is also referred to as a "red-out". This is probably due to capillaries in the eyes bursting under the increased blood pressure. Humans can survive brief intervals of about 20 to 40 g, and any exposure to around 100 g or more is lethal. -Wikipedia
red-out by Sven Viking November 25, 2005