View Single Post
Old 04-23-2009, 12:00 PM   #1
glatt
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Arlington, VA
Posts: 27,717
Useless trivia:

The skin of the Hindenburg is what actually caught fire. When it was burning enough that it ruptured, it released the hydrogen, and the hydrogen ignited at that point, way up high in the sky above the burning blimp shell.

The common belief that a hydrogen blimp was inherently dangerous because of what happened on the Hindenburg was disproved in the early 1990s when scientists reexamined what was known about that accident. If I recall correctly, it was some sort of coating on the skin that made it flammable. Hydrogen is actually less flammable than gasoline. 932F versus 536F
glatt is offline   Reply With Quote