Alhough, according to Nina Stoessinger, in the German dubbed version Smyslov says: “He knows more” (?
6/ Could a human being survive exposure to a vacuum as Bowman is in 2001? In the short time Dave Bowman was in a vacuum, there is little chance that the water in his body could evaporate and the structural integrity of the human body is enough to prevent it exploding. In fact, there is more danger from freezing than of exploding eyeballs or the body losing all its moisture. Studies with chimps in the 1960’s showed they could survive for up to two an a half minutes in a vacuum, substantially more than the ten seconds Bowman is subjected to in the film, which lead Clarke & Kubrick to add this plot device to the movie. The worst thing that could befall Bowman in such a situation, would be something like “the bends” although he would have been breathing a high oxygen environment before he exited the pod. Arthur C. Clarke explores this idea further in an essay called ‘A Breath of Fresh Vacuum,’ from his book The View From Serendip. T, I, CW, DM, RM & ME 7/ What do the letters HAL stand for
