This is the point of this for honest critical thinkers.
The force of the pressure differential between atmospheric pressure and the partial vacuum that was sucked into the tank car easily overwhelmed the steel walls of the tank car. The force of the pressure differential in space between the artificial atmospheric pressure inside the space suit and the infinite vacuum of space would be infinitely greater than what the steel walls of the railroad tank car experienced.
There's a difference between vacuum inside and vacuum outside.
Think of a soda can. Using your lungs, you can suck the air out of it and cause it to be crushed, but you cannot blow air into it so much it explodes.
The difference between tension and compression is important for most materials. Something like concrete is extremely strong in compression, but extremely weak in tension. Metals are the opposite, extremely strong in tension but relatively weak in compression. Moreover, in tension the force of the vacuum is distributed evenly along all the surfaces, whereas in compression it can buckle which introduces weak points and stress points. Once you blow on the can, it's the same as it ever was, but once you suck on it, the can has folds introduced into it that will never fully go away.
Think of a soda can. Using your lungs, you can suck the air out of it and cause it to be crushed, but you cannot blow air into it so much it explodes.
The difference between tension and compression is important for most materials. Something like concrete is extremely strong in compression, but extremely weak in tension. Metals are the opposite, extremely strong in tension but relatively weak in compression. Moreover, in tension the force of the vacuum is distributed evenly along all the surfaces, whereas in compression it can buckle which introduces weak points and stress points. Once you blow on the can, it's the same as it ever was, but once you suck on it, the can has folds introduced into it that will never fully go away.
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@sj_zero @trujusluv Also, 15 PSI difference isn't really that much. It's the same difference between being on land vs scuba diving 70 ft. The real problems in space are lack of breathable air and spontaneous boiling of fluids (low pressure does weird stuff to phase changes).
Edit: Corrected to 70ft from 40ft, my memory was a bit off.
Edit: Corrected to 70ft from 40ft, my memory was a bit off.