[bhtru]

What would be worse a catastrophic collapse deep down in the sea or a sudden depressurization high above in the sky around the Armstrong limit?

[Maxion]

The latter clearly as you’d definitely have a longer time of being conscious.

[accrual]

One would survive at the Armstrong limit for much longer indeed:

> Exposure to pressure below this limit results in a rapid loss of consciousness, followed by a series of changes to cardiovascular and neurological functions, and eventually death, unless pressure is restored within 60–90 seconds. [0]

[0] http://www.geoffreylandis.com/vacuum.html

[belltaco]

The pressure difference between complete vacuum and sea level is one atm. At the depth of the titanic, the difference is about 375 times that.

[dogma1138]

Implosion at 400 atm probably takes a fraction of a second, with catastrophic decompression of 1 atm you’ll be conscious probably for about a minute.

[LorenPechtel]

Above the Armstrong limit you're looking at 9-15 seconds of useful consciousness. (The time you are conscious enough to take actions to save yourself.)

When a deep sub implodes you're going to be hit by water moving at the speed of sound in said water (1,500m/s, considerably faster than in air.) That's far above the speed of nerve impulses, there's no way a pain signal could reach the brain before there isn't a brain left to get the signal.

[dogma1138]

I’ll still take about 1/1000th of a second or so over upto 10 seconds of contemplating my faith.

Especially in the case where I’ve drugged one of my children to come with me.