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Frozen in time
Have you ever heard of Cryosleep?
Cryosleep is a deep sleep during which the body is stored at a very cold temperature, to preserve it
The brief history of cryonics
That’s precisely the basic idea of cryonics. The word itself is also derived from the Greek term for “cold”, and it means the low-temperature preservation of a human corpse, with the hope that one day it can be restored to life and full health. Bodies are cooled down to -200 Celsius and placed in a container of liquid nitrogen.
Michigan professor Robert Ettinger proposed cryonics in 1964 in a book called The Prospect of Immortality, which argued that death could, in fact, be a reversible process. The first person to be cryopreserved was Dr. James Bedford in 1967. He died of kidney cancer, but his will was to be put into a cryo-chamber, in hopes that one day in the future, doctors will be able to bring him back. Ettinger, who died in 2011, went on to found the Cryonics Institute in Michigan where he, his mother and his first and second wives all now reside in metal flasks kept at −196 °C.Although the concept has never become mainstream, around six companies were established in the 1970s to use the technology. But the majority could not cover the fixed costs of preserving the bodies, thus went bankrupt, and the number of people choosing to sign up is steadily increasing year on year. There are now nearly 300 cryogenically frozen individuals in the US, another 50 in Russia, and a few thousand prospective candidates signed up. There are even more than 30 pets at Alcor’s chambers, the largest cryonics organization in the world in Arizona, that has been around since 1972.There are now nearly 300 cryogenically frozen individuals in the US, another 50 in Russia, and a few thousand prospective candidates signed up. There are even more than 30 pets at Alcor's chambers, the largest cryonics organization in the world in Arizona, that has been around since 1972.
Prices with other organizations can be as much as $200,000 or more for whole-body cryopreservation and $80,000 for a "neuro" (head-only) option. With CI, a whole-body cryopreservation costs as little as $28,000.00, rendering an alternative "neuro" option unnecessary
The body will then be cooled on dry ice until it reaches -130°C, at which point it will be placed into a container inside a larger metal tank, which will be filled with liquid nitrogen to keep the body at a temperature of around -196°C
James Bedford
That’s the same trouble with cryosleep, the most popular means of travel for sci-fi movies and literature where protagonists have to go to other planets by light years. However, if we could make it work, it would really be a game-changer — from saving terminally ill patients, to solving one of the main problems of interstellar travel.
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By Phil & Indigo
5
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Have you ever heard of Cryosleep?
Cryosleep is a deep sleep during which the body is stored at a very cold temperature, to preserve it
The brief history of cryonics
That’s precisely the basic idea of cryonics. The word itself is also derived from the Greek term for “cold”, and it means the low-temperature preservation of a human corpse, with the hope that one day it can be restored to life and full health. Bodies are cooled down to -200 Celsius and placed in a container of liquid nitrogen.
Michigan professor Robert Ettinger proposed cryonics in 1964 in a book called The Prospect of Immortality, which argued that death could, in fact, be a reversible process. The first person to be cryopreserved was Dr. James Bedford in 1967. He died of kidney cancer, but his will was to be put into a cryo-chamber, in hopes that one day in the future, doctors will be able to bring him back. Ettinger, who died in 2011, went on to found the Cryonics Institute in Michigan where he, his mother and his first and second wives all now reside in metal flasks kept at −196 °C.Although the concept has never become mainstream, around six companies were established in the 1970s to use the technology. But the majority could not cover the fixed costs of preserving the bodies, thus went bankrupt, and the number of people choosing to sign up is steadily increasing year on year. There are now nearly 300 cryogenically frozen individuals in the US, another 50 in Russia, and a few thousand prospective candidates signed up. There are even more than 30 pets at Alcor’s chambers, the largest cryonics organization in the world in Arizona, that has been around since 1972.There are now nearly 300 cryogenically frozen individuals in the US, another 50 in Russia, and a few thousand prospective candidates signed up. There are even more than 30 pets at Alcor's chambers, the largest cryonics organization in the world in Arizona, that has been around since 1972.
Prices with other organizations can be as much as $200,000 or more for whole-body cryopreservation and $80,000 for a "neuro" (head-only) option. With CI, a whole-body cryopreservation costs as little as $28,000.00, rendering an alternative "neuro" option unnecessary
The body will then be cooled on dry ice until it reaches -130°C, at which point it will be placed into a container inside a larger metal tank, which will be filled with liquid nitrogen to keep the body at a temperature of around -196°C
James Bedford
That’s the same trouble with cryosleep, the most popular means of travel for sci-fi movies and literature where protagonists have to go to other planets by light years. However, if we could make it work, it would really be a game-changer — from saving terminally ill patients, to solving one of the main problems of interstellar travel.