Comments on: Hindenburg Design and Technology

By: Thomas

Thomas — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:15:58 +0000

A balloon with 1m3 of helium could lift 1.2kg – 0.1786kg = 1,0214kg

A balloon with 1m3 of hydrogen could lift 1.2kg – 0.08988kg = 1.11012kg

Thus using helium instead of hydrogen only reduces the lifting force by 8%.

By: Barry Hudson

Barry Hudson — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 03:30:26 +0000

Hi I have always had a interest in airships. I have a idea of using photovoltaic cloth, Lithium Ion batties and electric motors on a small one. just big enough to have famlily size living quarters.
I guess I’d have to name it the Winobago-burg.. It would sure make a great retirement home with excelent travel potencial of seeing the county, from a birds eye view. and in grand style!

I want all the techical spec’s I can get. I will have to develop a harpoon landing teather system. for mooring her in bad weather..But for right now I just want to learn all i can about them

By: John Eden

John Eden — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 23:05:00 +0000

What are the calculations to achieve neutral bouyancy in order to reach a desired altitude

By: Rajib Bandopadhyay

Rajib Bandopadhyay — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 16:00:59 +0000

The density of air at sea level is about 1.2 kg/m3 (1.2 g/L). Recall that Density of Hydrogen is (0 °C, 101.325 kPa), 0.08988 g/L, whereas, Density of Helium is (0 °C, 101.325 kPa) 0.1786 g/L. So, air is about 13.35 times as dense as hydrogen, and about 6.72 times as dense as helium.

By: Rajib Bandopadhyay

Rajib Bandopadhyay — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 12:31:31 +0000

The explanation could have been simpler.
What Dan says is true, because Hydrogen has one proton, while Helium has two protons and two neutrons. Hydrogen has an atomic weight of 1.00794. Helium has an atomic weight of 4.002602. This makes Helium atom four times heavier than hydrogen atom. See wikipedia links:
But hydrogen is never available in its atomic form. It is always in its molecular form. Which is why Helium gas is only twice as heavy as hydrogen gas.
Density of Hydrogen is (0 °C, 101.325 kPa), 0.08988 g/L, whereas, Density of Helium is (0 °C, 101.325 kPa) 0.1786 g/L, which means the ratio of density of hydrogen to that of helium is 0.50324748, or half. Inverted, the ratio of density of helium to that of hydrogen is 1.987093903, or two.
If we compare density of either of the gases in relation to air, the density of air being same, helium must have the half the lifting power of hydrogen.

By: Nicolas Uribe

Nicolas Uribe — Fri, 14 May 2010 02:01:07 +0000

Great website! I’ve got a couple of questions that have been nagging me for years: 1) What method was used to generate the hydrogen? 2) How do you join cow intestines (normally used for making sausages) to make an impermeable gas bag for an airship? And just how many cows would you need for an airship the size of the Hindenburg? 3) I know that airships leaked hydrogen, but I assume that in a dirigible the gas cells would be kept as close as possible to ambient atmospheric pressure, hence leakage would be minimal. Am I correct??? And finally… thanks for sharing your website with all of us airship freaks.

By: Martin Winlow

Martin Winlow — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:21:57 +0000

Dear Dan (or anyone else in the know),

Was compressing the hydrogen on board ever considered as an alternative to venting it to reduce buoyancy? Or am I being technologically dim?

Regards, MW.

By: Andreas Horn

Andreas Horn — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:24:21 +0000

Another problem with the “Blaugas” was that it had been a highly unprofitable venture, because the components of the gas had to be shipped to South America by ship. There the propane and the other gases were filled into the gasbags and “mixed” by shaking (!) them, as Lehmann describes in his book “Im Luftschiff über Länder und Meere”.
So the story that the “Blaugas” was a success is definitely a myth – besides the danger associated with it, as described in detail by Dan.

Andreas

By: Dan (Airships.net)

Dan (Airships.net) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:57:17 +0000

The Hindenburg was never inflated with any helium at all, since the DZR never obtained any helium from the United States; LZ-129 was inflated completely with hydrogen throughout the ship’s career.

A helium airship is not more sluggish than one inflated with hydrogen, since as long as a ship is in static equilibrium it have essentially the same performance regardless of its lifting gas. (There would be a theoretical difference in mass, but it would be a relatively small percentage of overall mass.)

With regard to the relative lifting ability of HE and H, while helium is half as light as hydrogen, it does not have half the lifting power. Helium has approximately twice the atomic weight of hydrogen but it has 93% of hydrogen’s lifting ability (not 50%) because lift is determined by the relative weight of lifting gas to air.

I hope this is helpful!

By: Rich Landry

Rich Landry — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:12:16 +0000

Read book back in 1949 believe written by Max Pruss, the captain. In it he stated they filled all bags with Hydrogen and in the USA they had to fill the four bags over the smoking room with helium (our rules). His response was that the airship was more sluggish on the way back. You talk of the ballast dropped.
Helium has only one half the lifting force of hydrogen so it seems the airship was originally calculated for hydrogen. or they could drag an American locomotive for ballast using hydrogen instead of helium