aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Hydrogen and the Hindenburg

This is in the Auto section of the New York Times. I can’t say I know why:

THE May 6, 1937, crash of the Hindenburg at the Navy base here was the 20th century’s first transportation disaster captured by newsreel, audio recordings and still photos.

The advancement in communications, combined with the observations of more than a thousand witnesses and survivors, is why one calamity with a relatively modest death toll permanently soiled hydrogen’s reputation.

In 34 fiery seconds, hydrogen leaped from the No. 1 position on the periodic table of elements to the last thing any citizen would consider pumping into a car’s fuel tank.

But was hydrogen really to blame?

Even after reading it, I can’t say that I know the answer:

“In a nutshell, the catastrophe began with escaping hydrogen,” he said. “Air mixing with the hydrogen created a combustible mixture. Either a spark jumping from the electrically charged outer covering to the metal framework or the St. Elmo’s fire lit the mixture. A puff or pop indicating detonation was heard by several observers.

“It’s important to note that the Hindenburg didn’t explode. It was consumed by rapid combustion; this is evident in photographs. Heat produced in the first burning cell raised the temperature of adjacent cells, causing hydrogen to spill out of pressure-relief valves. It took only 34 seconds for fire to engulf the entire ship.” Thirty-six people were killed.

But what I think is cool about the article is that the “he” in the quotes above is one Rick Zitarosa, a supervisor for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority who lives in Point Pleasant, N.J. Amateur as expert! Someone get that man a Wikipedia account!

NOTE TO FRIEND & REGULAR READER JASON: Explain it to us in comments!