Re: [ATM] ATM: Whimsical,capricious nature of paraboloid (figuring it)

[Richard <cnc@cncservo.co.uk>]

Hi David,

Sunday, April 24, 2005, 1:46:23 PM, you wrote:

DH> For those of you who do not know (and it is surprising how many don't)- in
DH> the thirties, several of the nations of the world built gigantic airships,
DH> with a RIGID framework of metal to hold the giant gas containing cells to
DH> lift it into the air. The first two were the British R-100 (very successful,
DH> despite being inflated by hydrogen) and the R-101 (a disaster befell it,
DH> because of the same beaurocratic interference that destroyed the Challenger
DH> space shuttle).

Really interesting stuff David. Were the earlier 'blimps' not of
rigid framework structure. According to a recent dicumentary,
they existed during WW1 and the UK was bombed from them.
DH> The Hindenburg was designed for Helium, not
DH> Hydrogen. It did not crash, but only caught fire. Many believe it was
DH> sabotage.

Again according to a documentary, albeit a respectible one
called Horizon in the UK, the cause of the fire was not the
Hydrogen but the coating of canvas, one ingredient of which was
Aluminium powder and it was effectively Thermite. If you watch
archive footage of the fire you can see the very light Hydrogen
part of the fire went vertical at a high speed with an almost
invisible blue flame. The dramatic yellow fire was the thermite
coating which was the cause of the start of the fire and the
cause of most deaths through burning. Hydrogen can be safe if
treated with respect.

PS - add me to your Zulu docs distribution list please.

-- 

Best regards,
 Richard



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