How was Han Solo able to survive the carbonite freezing process? How was he still able to breathe, and how was his heart still able to keep beating?
The carbonite freezing placed Han in a state of suspended animation. His heart was still beating, albeit very slowly. Presumably, all the equipment attached to the side of the carbonite slab was used to monitor Han's vitals and provide the appropriate nutrition and other necessities.
Y'know how in some sci-fi movies/video games/etc., they have this theme/plot revolving around people being frozen in stasis (usually in pods, ala Fallout 4)? Well that was kind of what happened with Han, only his stasis was a slab of frozen carbonite. As timmoishere stated, the panel on the side of the slab was what kept him alive.
Do you have a Lucas era source of canon substantiating these contentions that Han continues to breathe and that his heart continues to beat?
They have the technology to do so. Lando checked the side with the lights and dials and told Vader that Han is still alive. The Family Guy scene where Peter is uncarbonited still cracks me up.
(regarding the difficulty of the subject, great tough question you brought up Scott109) Well, checking some original materials the carbon freezing chamber is a Zero degree freezing chamber. The ROJ materials suggest it's a "carbonite shell" protecting his protruding features. Yet, freezing a human body to 0° Celsius is technically impossible (according to our understanding of human biology) and the part that really troubles me is the breathing problem. Even in a comatose state, air still has to find its ways into the lungs.
Right, but this isn't the real world. This is a universe where people have been frozen before and they've survived.
What source says that Han still has respiration and circulation while in carbon freeze? What materials say 'zero degree freezing chamber'? Draft / unused ESB script / radio play / novelization? A few things could be said about the generalized configuration Lucas sets up. The first being that Lando's reliability is already suspect because he has betrayed Han, and now he has clearly stated that the facility is for carbon freezing with the implication of goods or products or inanimate objects, and that using it on a living human like Luke Skywalker might kill him. So. How is it that Lando is suddenly supposed to possess the credibility and credentials to know factually that Han Solo is in "perfect hibernation", whatever that means in this context? Was he a doctor before a gambling scoundrel? Did he check webmd.com after Vader altered the deal? Is a consumer of ESB, consuming strictly the material of the film ESB, supposed to conclude that suspension of this kind exists routinely in GFFA so that Lando, Administrator of a gas mine, can have a basis to conclude what is and is not 'perfect hibernation' of a living human? Second, how is 'hibernation', by any definition, squared against the repetition of conjugates of base verb 'freeze'? Lucas is an artful and wily practitioner of koan, and/or/but the sum of meaning should incorporate and represent all the pertinent words used, not solely the last. Let it be only me, but I would rank the stage direction and expository descriptions of the script, plus C-3PO's reliable expository role, over the dialogue of a less than perfectly reliable character. Who we know was of a class with Han Solo himself, who we know was much less than a perfectly reliable character. I'm afraid the surface of this question is not entirely stable.
Hernalt Screenplay from October 1978, almost identical to the final version: 379. INT CARBON-FREEZING CHAMBER - CLOUD CITY - BES PIN With Boba Fett in the lead, a squad of Stormtrooper s bring in Han, Leia and Chewie. Strapped to Chewie's back, wi th only his head, torso and one arm assembled is Threepio. Thre epio's head faces the opposite direction from Chewie's and the droid is constantly twisting around in a vain effort to see what's happening. His one attached arm is animate and expr essive, intermittently pointing, gesturing and covering his eyes. The remaining pieces of his body are roughly bundled. t o the Wookiee's back. His legs and other arm stick out at odd angles from the pack. Vader turns to Boba Fett. VADER I'll make your goods easier for you to transport. P ut Captain Solo in the zero-cold chamber. BOBA But the chamber is for power goods. What if he does n't survive? This slime is worth a lot to me...
This answers the OP the fastest. Biological samples far smaller than an adult human have been frozen for long periods, and then demonstrated function after thawing. For tldr, do a find on "cat brains" and on "rabbit kidney". (I do recommend reading the entire page.) http://www.benbest.com/cryonics/vitrify.html
I wonder if someone could survive being frozen in ice as easily as being frozen in carbonite or stasis in the SW universe. Anyone know? Iron Lord out there somewhere?
SateleNovelist11 I really recommend you read the essential parts in the link Hernalt provided. The essential problem with freezing a human body to 0° Celsius remains that the water in our bodies will immediately produce ice crystals that would destroy our brains, if I understood correctly. Yet, I'm still not sure I understand why some insects and amphibians survive being frozen, while the human body wouldn't.
Ah, I see. Thanks. I'm more of a right-brained person. Not left-brained at all, but I do enjoy reading about science, particularly if it's astronomy or the topic you mentioned. It's interesting to note that our species may be the descendants of microscopic life-forms stuck on an asteroid from Mars a billion years ago. I'll definitely read it! But, yeah. I never had a problem with the carbon-freezing idea. I can buy Han, Darsha Assant, Ahsoka, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rex, etc. surviving it in different stories. It's science-fantasy. Go figure. I can buy Boba Fett surviving the Sarlacc. Np. All of that is part of the beauty of the Star Wars universe. It's interesting how, in many versus series, humans typically are not as strong constitutionally or physically as most alien species. I think that may be a reflection of what you said about how the human body cannot survive freezing as those real-life species. Humans evolved from ancient mammals with specific advantages, but we haven't evolved in the ways that other species have. Don't ya just love how fictional genetics and evolution reflects the complexity of our real-world diversity on Earth?
Actually, the principle was set up, albeit in a different way, back in 1978 (or '79). In Brian Daley's Han Solo at Stars' End, Viceprex Hirken keeps his prisoners in stasis booths, which generate a field that, in effect, basically stops someone in time. Beyond a mention of a "low entropy field", there's no details on exactly how it works, beyond that when the power shuts off, the subject revives immediately without any ill effects, beyond some confusion over how long they've been out. Given the recent continuity shake-up, I have no idea if this is currently considered canon.