A zepplin shaped blow-up party ballon...but instead of tying it off realease it and watch it fly (like the Hindenberg)
-- simonj, Oct 27 2010

Wikipedia: Hindenburg disaster http://en.wikipedia...Hindenburg_disaster
I wonder how aviation history might have changed if it had zipped all over the place while making farting noises instead of going up in flames. [jutta, Oct 27 2010]

<sets fire to [simonj]'s balloon>
<runs off, laughing>
-- infidel, Oct 27 2010


If it went on fire would it be a ZIppolin?
-- xenzag, Oct 27 2010


How dangerous would it be to give every guest a hydrogen-filled balloon on a string, and then ignite them? Are we talking about shock and suprise, or singed toupées, or 3rd degree burns, or crushed by falling masonry?
-- pocmloc, Oct 27 2010


A balloon filled with hydrogen, when ignited, burns with a reasonably gentle rising flame.

A balloon filled with a 2:1 hydrogen / oxygen mix goes with a hearty crack.

It's interesting to note that in the Hindenburg fire, most of the hydrogen didn't burn. As soon as the envelope was ruptured, the hydrogen escaped upward (as it was the only thing supporting the weight of the structure). The vast volume of escaping hydrogen displaced the air, so there was ver little oxygen available to support combustion. Once the little oxygen around the periphery of the escaping hydrogen cloud was consumed, the flame front stopped and the remainder of the hydrogen continued upward.

The fact that 2/3 of the passengers and crew survived the total destruction of the craft should be seen as testament to the inherent safety of airships. Instead, we all remember the frantic voice of the reporter on the newsreel.
-- Twizz, Oct 27 2010


It was the envelope of the Hindenburg that burned so spectacularly.
-- infidel, Oct 27 2010


Attach a small media player that plays a recording of insults and it could be a deride-gible.
-- Jinbish, Oct 27 2010


How do the chicken entrails fit in there then?
-- pocmloc, Oct 27 2010


//A balloon filled with hydrogen, when ignited, burns with a reasonably gentle rising flame.//

Having experienced this with a rubber balloon, I'd call it a mad roiling flame that lasts about a second.
-- ldischler, Oct 27 2010


Whilst I'm not sure how to define the sanity of a flame, I'd agree that's what I was getting at, gentle being relative to the explosion of the H2/O2 mix.
-- Twizz, Oct 27 2010


// the envelope ... burned so spectacularly //

Serves them right - you're not supposed to send those things through the mail.

Apart from the doped linen cover (the dope was nitrocellulose based, very flammable), the fuel on board contributed significantly to the fire.

[pocmloc], you have to try it to find out.
-- 8th of 7, Oct 27 2010


[pocmloc]: You are offal, but I like you.
-- Jinbish, Oct 27 2010


Aye, that was a gutsy effort.
-- BunsenHoneydew, Oct 31 2010



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