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Helium was initially selected for the lifting gas because it was the safest to use in airships, as it is not flammable. At the time it was extremely expensive, and was only available from natural gas reserves in the United States. Hydrogen, by comparison, could be cheaply produced by any industrialized nation and had more lift. American rigid airships using helium were forced to conserve the gas at all costs and this hampered their operation. While a hydrogen-filled ship could routinely vent gas as necessary, a helium-filled ship had to resort to dynamic force if it was too light to descend, a measure that took a toll on its structure.
Despite a U.S. ban on helium exports, the Germans designed the ship to use the gas in the belief that the ban would be lifted; when the designers learned that the ban was to remain in place, they were forced to re-engineer the Hindenburg to use hydrogen for lift. Despite the danger of using flammable hydrogen, no alternative gases that could provide sufficient lift could be produced in sufficient quantities. One beneficial side effect of employing hydrogen was that more passenger cabins could be added. The Germans' long history of flying hydrogen-filled passenger airships without a single injury or fatality engendered a widely held belief they had mastered the safe use of hydrogen. The Hindenburg's first season performance appeared to demonstrate this.
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Can you use helium in an air balloon not hot air just ordinary party balloons?
yes, but when using Helium you must have the balloon completely sealed and used a mylar material for the balloon as Helium 'leaks-out' of ordinary materials.
Which process does the Sun use to produce energy?
The conversion of Hydrogen into Helium (nuclear fusion).
Why does then large hadron collider need helium?
Liquid helium is colder than anything else on the face of the Earth. They cool the magnets with helium so the wire they're made out of will superconduct - flow electricity with no resistance. The LHC's magnets use 1.5 million watts of power all tolled; imagine how much they would need if the wire had even a thousandth of an ohm per meter resistance!
What element makes glowing signs?
The orange colored lights seen along roadways use sodium. The white colored lights usually use mercury.
A helium atom has 2 electrons in its first and only energy level. Would you predict that helium easily forms compounds with other elements?
No. Helium's two electrons completely fill the first electron energy level. Because they completely fill this level, helium will not try to borrow electrons. And, because the two electrons fill the energy level, it will not loan them out. As helium will not act to either borrow or loan out electrons, it is said to be chemically inert. It will not react with other elements. It won't even form a diatomic molecule with another atom of its own kind, as the other gaseous elements do (except the other inert gases). Helium is classed as an inert gas. It is lighter than air(hence its use in balloons) and does not support combustion. It is the only gas that shares both properties-Hydrogen is of course lighter but explosive. Helium was discovered on the rays of the Sun via the spectroscope prior to its discovery on earth. (Helios was a sun deity in Greco-Roman myth) Inert gases do not form compounds in the usual sense but can be used in mixtures in rare-gas lighting and some deep-diving gases. Strictly speaking an inert gas cannot form a compound. Noble gases indeed! They stand, or float alone!
Was the Hindenburg filled with helium?
No, the Hindenburg airship was filled with hydrogen gas, not helium. The use of hydrogen was a factor in the Hindenburg disaster, as the highly flammable gas led to the airship catching fire and crashing in 1937.
What type of gas filled the Hindenburg airship?
The Hindenburg airship was filled with hydrogen gas, which is highly flammable. This led to the devastating fire that caused the airship to crash in 1937.
The destruction of the Hindenburg marked the end of what element?
Hydrogen, newer airship designs use helium because it is slightly less volitile
How could the Hindenburg disaster been avoided?
no
Why does an airship float in air?
An airship uses helium which weighs less than air, and it cancels out the weight of the airship. Hydrogen weighs even less than helium, but it is combustible, so helium is preferred for use in airships.
What element was once used in the Hindenberg?
The Hindenburg was originally intended to be filled with helium, but a United States military embargo on helium forced the Germans to modify the design of the ship to use highly flammable hydrogen as the lift gas. (At the time the USA was the only country that could produce helium in the amounts required.) The Germans had considerable experience with using hydrogen and implemented necessary safety measures to preempt an accident. Prior to the Hindenburg disaster, their safety record was impressive.
Why is it bad to use hydrogen in airships?
Using hydrogen in airships is considered dangerous because hydrogen is highly flammable and can lead to explosions if exposed to air. This risk was famously demonstrated by the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, where an airship filled with hydrogen caught fire and crashed. As a result, helium is now the preferred gas for use in airships due to its non-flammable nature.
When was the major disaster which heralded the use of helium in dirigibles?
The Hindenberg disaster.
Why was the Hindenburg filled with gas?
The Hindenburg was a Zeppelin (a German made lighter-than-air airship), similar to a modern day blimp. It was filled with hydrogen gas that gave it enough lift to allow it to get off the ground. Modern day blimps & balloons use helium gas. Helium has less lift capacity than Hydrogen, however it is not flammable. Hydrogen is flammable.
How did rocket fuel contribute to the Hindenburg disaster?
It didnt. Liquid Oxygen is what rockets use for fuel however the Hindenburg was filled with ahighly reactive gas called hydrogen which ignited shortly after the Hindenburg crashed.
Are the Hindenburg and the goodyear blimp examples of hot air balloons?
No, the Hindenburg and the Goodyear blimp are not hot air balloons. The Hindenburg was a rigid airship that used hydrogen gas for lift, while the Goodyear blimp is a non-rigid airship that uses helium gas. Hot air balloons use hot air for lift and have a different design from airships.
What gas is used in a modern airship?
Some use hot air (like a hot air balloon) and others use helium.
