I loled, but not so fast. Helium wastage should be a federal crime. Hydrogen is not as dangerous as you think. Manned ballooney or blimpey aircraft are probably a mistake, but drones are a different matter. I for one would rather play with an r/c dirigible than r/c quadcopter. Endurance and fuel economy are great. As for manned zeppelins: An irresistible alternative to living in a house boat, especially if self-sufficient with photovoltaics.
The Hindenburg disaster happened, because the bags with the H2 were contained in highly flammable dry cloth, wood and glue. Hydrogen is a powerful
explosive when mixed with air, but usually isn't in the bags. I once read about safe experiments with hot carbonmonoxide for bouyancy, but I don't think they ended well.
Lighter-than-air vs. heavier-than-air was a religious war like pistol vs. revolver or *bsd vs. linux.
Yeah, I wish we lived in a world that had more dirigibles - minus the whole use of hydrogen gas thing. Damn helium embargo.
I loled, but not so fast. Helium wastage should be a federal crime. Hydrogen is not as dangerous as you think. Manned ballooney or blimpey aircraft are probably a mistake, but drones are a different matter. I for one would rather play with an r/c dirigible than r/c quadcopter. Endurance and fuel economy are great. As for manned zeppelins: An irresistible alternative to living in a house boat, especially if self-sufficient with photovoltaics.
The Hindenburg disaster happened, because the bags with the H2 were contained in highly flammable dry cloth, wood and glue. Hydrogen is a powerful explosive when mixed with air, but usually isn't in the bags. I once read about safe experiments with hot carbonmonoxide for bouyancy, but I don't think they ended well.