List -
Yes, a few years back there was a 2 hour special on the History Channel about
the Hindenburg disaster and what caused the flames. (Keep in mind that the
famous film was originally black and white, and has since been colorized per
the colorizer's perceptions)
A researcher found a piece of the original silver painted (doped) fabric of
the Hindenburg in New Jersey - some guy had picked it up as a kid after the
cleanup. He burned part of it in a controlled test with a piece of fabric that
he doped with a period-specific formula - and they both burned orange. The
orange color was reported by many eye-witnesses in the periodicals of the day.
The faint blue color was witnessed also on the opposite side of the Hindenburg
from the camera, OK?
Now then - what started the fire? A hydrogen leak, a bomb, or lightning from
the low clouds? (That's why the ship was late in mooring - they were waiting
for the clouds to clear) The theory now is that lightning ignited the doped
cloth (somebody reported seeing a"spark" on the side opposite the camera), and
the resulting heat expanded the hydrogen which was in bags inside the envelope
of the doped fabric, thus resulting in the fatal fire.
So here we are all these years later, and people still freak out when somebody
mentions using hydrogen as a fuel. I suppose it might be because the USA has
used it in bombs, too. Who knows? My guess is land racers are smart enough to
use it safely, but I'm not a qualified rules maker just yet. Besides - nitro
is cooler!
Chris Pile AKA aircap
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