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  #61 (permalink)  
Old 31-July-2006, 05:25 PM
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One other thing about exposiveness/flamability of hydrogen: the Hindenburg burned because of the coating applied to the fabric rather than because of the hydrogen. If hydrogen were the main source of fuel in that tragedy then the flames would have harmlessly shot upward with the rising hydrogen gas.

Actually, hydrogen was the main source of fuel. Did you not watch the 'Seconds from Disaster' program on the Hindenburg?

When the flamability of the coating material was tested, the burn time was far too slow for what was observed; the airship would've taken about a half hour to burn if that was the case, IIRC.

Instead, it took about 32 seconds to burn up.
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Old 31-July-2006, 05:35 PM
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Here's something I don't get:

Hydrogen fuel cells are used to power the space shuttle, are they not? And they were also used for the Apollo CSM, yes?

So, what is it about that technology that cannot be applied in a similar fashion for electric cars?
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Old 31-July-2006, 05:37 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grand_Lunar
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squashed
One other thing about exposiveness/flamability of hydrogen: the Hindenburg burned because of the coating applied to the fabric rather than because of the hydrogen. If hydrogen were the main source of fuel in that tragedy then the flames would have harmlessly shot upward with the rising hydrogen gas.
Actually, hydrogen was the main source of fuel. Did you not watch the 'Seconds from Disaster' program on the Hindenburg?

When the flamability of the coating material was tested, the burn time was far too slow for what was observed; the airship would've taken about a half hour to burn if that was the case, IIRC.

Instead, it took about 32 seconds to burn up.
Bold/underline mine.

Plus, most of the flames did shoot harmlessly upward. 2/3 of the passengers survived the accident.
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Old 31-July-2006, 05:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grand_Lunar
Here's something I don't get:

Hydrogen fuel cells are used to power the space shuttle, are they not? And they were also used for the Apollo CSM, yes?

So, what is it about that technology that cannot be applied in a similar fashion for electric cars?
Cost. Apollo and the shuttle have slightly higher price tags than the family automobile.

Also, Apollo and shuttle missions are limited duration, so they can make different design tradeoffs than a car that is expected to be used for years without swapping out major components. That is one of the dings against secondary batteries, as they generally lose efficiency over time.
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Old 01-August-2006, 12:47 AM
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Here's something I don't get:

Hydrogen fuel cells are used to power the space shuttle, are they not? And they were also used for the Apollo CSM, yes?

So, what is it about that technology that cannot be applied in a similar fashion for electric cars?


They can be and are, though modified versions. GM and Shell have been testing a number of them in Washington DC and there are trials running in Iceland, Japan, Califorina, and the Netherlands as well. (see my previous links for more details)
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