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If we wish to colonize another world, finding a planet with a gravitational field that humans can survive and thrive under will be crucial. If its gravity is too strong our blood will be pulled down into our legs, our bones might break, and we could even be pinned helplessly to the ground.
Finding the gravitational limit of the human body is something that's better done before we land on a massive new planet. Now, in a paper published on the pre-print server arXiv, three physicists, claim that the maximum gravitational field humans could survive long-term is four-and-a-half times the gravity on Earth.
Or, at least you could if you are an Icelandic strongman – and Game of Thrones monster – who can walk with more than half a metric ton on your back. For mere mortals, the researchers say, it would need to be a little weaker.
[...] For the maximum gravity at which we could take a step, the team turned to Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, an Icelandic strongman who once walked five steps with a 1430 pound log on his back, smashing a 1,000-year-old record[*].
[*] YouTube video.
What's the Maximum Gravity We Could Survive?
(Score: 2) by Arik on Saturday September 22 2018, @05:22PM
You're wrong, and I can.
I can definitely imagine a rewarding life on a high-G world for a species which evolved on that world. To them, it would be normal, expected. But I wouldn't expect such a species would resemble us physically, or even to resemble what we would become after some generations there.
What I don't imagine would be very enjoyable in any case is the regression involved in first mastering weightlessness - then diving not just back onto a planet, but a high g planet at that. THAT doesn't seem like a very rewarding life at all.
More likely, adaption will work out to be a one-way trip in practice. Once a human is adapted to zero-g, they will not willingly go back to a full g, let alone 4.5. The medical risks will be severe, not insurmountable in abstract perhaps, but who would want to face them personally? And for what gain? What is it that you need done down there that you can't build a machine to do for you remotely?
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?