Something something hindenberg…
Comment on Honda successfully launched and landed its own reusable rocket
JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 1 day agoI wonder if hydrogen fuels poses any unique risks as compared to petrol.
It’s highly explosive.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Well, different. You’d have highly compressed hydrogen in a cylindrical pressure vessel.
The Hindenburg just burned, actually it was mostly its highly flammable paint that caught fire. When a pressure vessel is ruptured, it explodes in a big way, or it quickly removes itself from the vehicle like a mini rocket.
xavier666@lemm.ee 1 day ago
It’s highly explosive
That’s … why i’m here
muusemuuse@lemm.ee 1 day ago
This is a feature, not a bug.
stephen01king@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
Is petrol not?
Jrockwar@feddit.uk 1 day ago
In different ways. For example, it’s very rare for a car to explode in a collision, other than in movies.
One of the reasons that make hydrogen difficult to work with in this sense is that hydrogen (H₂) molecules are so small that they can permeate most materials, such as steel. Then it can get somewhat easily to wherever there is a spark, and chaos ensues. Annoyingly you don’t even need 100% Hydrogen for that to happen, as it can ignite with a concentration of just 4%.
After we stopped using Hydrogen mostly as a consequence of Hindenburg’s accident, it’s taken years to perfect hydrogen fuel cells to a safety standard that can be used in cars. As far as I know, its use has been limited to rockets/space propulsion otherwise (where you can just throw millions at the problem to make it safer).
xavier666@lemm.ee 1 day ago
(H₂) molecules are so small that they can permeate most materials, such as steel
Okay, I knew from texts books that H2 is small but I never thought of the real-life consequences of it being so small. Then theoretically, Helium should also be “leaky”, right?
MysteriousSophon21@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Yep, helium is even worse for leaking! It’s actually the smallest noble gas and can escape through tiny pores that even hydrogen can’t fit through. Thats why helium balloons deflate faster than air balloons - the atoms literally seep through the balloon material.
TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 1 day ago
I mean so are the shells tank fire. If you are hit hard enough to hit the fuel cell in a tank…you have other problems.