What was the chemical reaction that brought down the Hindenburg?

What was the chemical reaction that brought down the Hindenburg?

Almost 80 years of research and scientific tests support the same conclusion reached by the original German and American accident investigations in 1937: It seems clear that the Hindenburg disaster was caused by an electrostatic discharge (i.e., a spark) that ignited leaking hydrogen.

What is the theory behind why the Hindenburg caught fire and crashed?

The theory that gained the most popularity and became the most widely accepted involved the hydrogen on the Hindenburg. Hydrogen is a highly flammable gas, and most people believed that something caused the hydrogen to spark, thus causing the explosion and fire.

What is Hindenburg science?

The Hindenburg was wider than other airships, which made it more stable. Four engines powered the Hindenburg. Sixteen gas cells made from gelatinized cotton kept the Hindenburg aloft. These cells were designed to be filled with helium, which was known to be safer than hydrogen because it is non-flammable.

What chemical was in the Hindenburg?

hydrogen
The Hindenburg was a huge ship—larger than four Goodyear blimps combined, longer than three Boeing 747s! Its steel frame was covered by a canvas-like material. Within the frame were 16 large bladders that contained the “lighter-than-air” gas called hydrogen.

Did the Hindenburg explode or burn?

The Hindenburg disaster was an airship accident that occurred on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States. The German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station Lakehurst.

What molecules have we been studying that can be a possible cause of the Hindenburg explosion?

The culprit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Gestapo agreed, was hydrogen — the flammable lifting gas used by all the world’s airships except those of the United States, the only nation with large natural reserves of helium, a nonflammable gas.

Why did the Hindenburg not use helium?

U.S. law prevented the Hindenburg from using helium instead of hydrogen, which is flammable. However, the United States, which had a monopoly on the world supply of helium and feared that other countries might use the gas for military purposes, banned its export, and the Hindenburg was reengineered.

When did Addison Bain come up with his theory?

This theory, which was proposed in 1997 and recently updated in his 2004 book, The Freedom Element: Living with Hydrogen, has been generally accepted by people interested in promoting hydrogen as a transportation fuel, and generally rejected by people involved with airships and their history.

How did Addison Bain contribute to the Hindenburg disaster?

Addison Bain is a retired NASA scientist and founding member of the National Hydrogen Association who is credited with postulating the Incendiary Paint Theory (IPT), which posits that the Hindenburg disaster was caused by the electrical ignition of lacquer- and metal-based paints used on the outer hull of the airship.

Where did Addison Bain go to high school?

Bain attended Flathead High School, received his Bachelor of Science in Space Technology from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT), his Master of Science in Systems Management from FIT, and his Ph.D. in Engineering Management from CCU. The primary refutation is based on the work of A. J. Dessler, D. E. Overs, and W. H. Appleby.