h a l f b a k e r yBunned. James Bunned.
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Design the undercar of a hydrogen blimp so that it may be detached from the balloon and glide to earth in the event of an accident. Without the extra ballast, the released balloon shoots up in the air, exploding far above the glider.
Evacu-Blimp
Evacu-Blimp
[phoenix, Aug 15 2005]
A gondola with a parachute
http://www.gasballo...QinetQ%20Flight.htm
Search for "Piantanida's Strato Jump II" - about half-way down the page. [phoenix, Aug 15 2005]
(?) "Stratoquest"
http://www.stratoqu...m/The%20Mission.htm
"Once [the pilot] exits the gondola, the balloon will be released and return...the gondola’s drogue will deploy [and at 15,000 feet] its canopy opens and the gondola will be directed to a landing area via a remote control system." [phoenix, Aug 15 2005]
Cost of Hydrogen
http://www.corrosio...book/periodic/1.htm
[joeforker, Aug 15 2005]
German Spelling Reform - Compound Words
http://en.wikipedia...form#Compound_words
[calum, Aug 15 2005]
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Hydrogen? Is there about to be such a supply excess of hydrogen that we need to begin using it in more applications? |
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Yeah. I wonder if any blimp gondolas already have quick releases and parachutes. (later) Apparently yes, but for not quite the same reasons (link). |
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On the other hand, maybe all blimps should be required to carry Evacu-Blimps (link). |
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Wow, I thought helium would be more expensive than hydrogen. But it is in fact much cheaper. |
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1000 liters of gas:
Deuterium gas : about $600. (radioactive hydrogen gas costs more).
Grade A Helium : about $1.50 -- a buck fifty. |
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That much hydrogen can lift about 32 kg. The 1000 liters of helium lifts about 31 kg. |
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I've looked it up elsewhere. Helium is definitely cheaper than hydrogen. |
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I thought the more reactive an element was the more expensive it would be? |
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I wouldn't have thought that you would have much warning if you were to have an accident in a blimp. Unless you were about to crash into something and/or need a fresh pair of trousers. |
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Also, damn the complicated name making me look at an idea effect. |
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<<I've looked it up elsewhere. Helium is definitely cheaper than hydrogen.>> |
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But hydrogen gas can be created anywhere(just run a current through some H2O, and collect the H2 and O2), whereas helium gas is a dwindling natural resource. |
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<<what was the name of that blimp, the Hindennburg...>>>
Any Zeppelin fan knows 2 things. First, Robert Plant is a sellout, and second, The Hindenburg disaster was caused by the Kerosene used to make the balloon airtight. Had they used modern airtight materials, like the 2-ply neoprene used in the goodyear blimp, the tragedy would have been remembered as an earth shattering pop, followed by an air car crashing to the ground. A crash that could have been averted had they all been sitting in a glider... |
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//Any Zepplin fan knows // ...how to spell it.
//A crash that could have been averted had they all been sitting in a glider...// They were mooring at the time - every tried to start a glider from zero air-speed, less than a 100 metres off the ground? |
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Thanks for catching the typo. And let me tell you about the time I tried to start a glider from zero air-speed, less than one hundred meters off the ground. We were balancing precipitously off a cliff on the northern shores of Morrocco, having been forced to land after a stunning betrayal by an double agent who had promised to tow us behind enemy lines in his decrepit Sopwith Camel. Der Fuhrer had greased his palms with enough money to buy his manor house back, which he had lost during a poker match between The current Earl of Sandwich and a Frenchman named Gilles... |
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But I have told this story a dozen times, many people on this board could probably recite it by rote... |
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//We were balancing precipitously off a cliff// I think you can only balance *on* a cliff. |
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Okay someone else help me with this. How much does it cost to buy 1000 cubic meters of helium and hydrogen? I keep getting different answers as to the relative costs of both gases. |
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Helium is a limited natural resource, sure, but it is also renewable. According to the Wikipedia, every cubic kilometer of the Earth's crust creates 3.4 L of helium every year. |
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Hey [joe], I make that about 3 733 425 463 127 litres a year (that's 3 and three-quarter billion cubic metres)
[EDIT] Damn - I calculated for the whole Earth - anyone know the average thickness of the crust? |
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<<I think you can only balance *on* a cliff.>>
coprocephalous, my apologies. I had assumed you were familiar with this tale. We were indeed balanced off the cliff, taking advantage of a unique thermal situation found only around the Northern cliffs of Morroco, known to the natives as Le Vent Infernal (A similar phenomenon was reported to exist in southern Nepal, by Dr. Trousseau, but we later exposed him as a scoundrel and charlatan and gave him the thrashing he deserved.)
In any event, there we were, my trusty manservant Jorge and I, balanced like a juggler's plate upon Le Vent Infernal, 50 feet above the cliff face, with only a satchel full of conterfeit deutchmarks, a pen knife, and 4 pairs of nylon stockings. (Jorge was also carrying a voodo charm he acquired in his native Brazil, but that does not figure prominently enough in this tale to mention.) |
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But I grow weary typing on this flimsy excuse for a typewriter. Perhaps another time... |
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God I wish we could give bread for annotations.
[dbsousa], have a pair of highly suspect unofficial croissants for your recent work. |
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Hey, [joe] - what's with using deuterium as the standard for hydrogen costs?
The actual figures for hydrogen cost vary greatly by production method; the "end user target" cost (read: "not currently acheived but not out of the ballpark by over an order of magnitude or so") is currently about 2 to 3 USbucks per kilo. |
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That has got to be the best idea name I've seen here. Ever. |
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