· How did a paint made from aluminum contribute to the disaster?
· How is powdered aluminum used on the current united states space shuttle?
· What is the chemical formula for the paint?
· How is powdered aluminum used on the current united states space shuttle?
· What is the chemical formula for the paint?
Powdered Aluminum
The envelope of the Hindenburg was painted with aluminum cellulose acetate butyrate and iron oxide which is highly reactive. The hydrogen was
clearly the key source of the explosion; however the paint may have been the
ignition.
Powdered aluminum is now used in space shuttles as solid fuel or
propellant. Aluminum powder is combined with metallic oxide
that is not explosive but can shoot short bursts of extremely high temperatures. The following reaction was extremely exothermic:
clearly the key source of the explosion; however the paint may have been the
ignition.
Powdered aluminum is now used in space shuttles as solid fuel or
propellant. Aluminum powder is combined with metallic oxide
that is not explosive but can shoot short bursts of extremely high temperatures. The following reaction was extremely exothermic:
The chemical formula for the paint was 2Al + 1Fe2O3 → 1Al2O3 + 2Fe.
Why can powdered aluminum behave like it did on the Hindenburg? Would an aluminum can react the same way?
✰ Octet rule states that atoms of low atomic numbers tend to combine to have 8 electrons. The aluminum powder sought to combine with the iron oxide to have eight electrons in the outer shell. This would have been highly reacted even if both substances had been settled
✰ I don’t believe that aluminum could be as combustible as the powdered aluminum because it is used in
our day to day lives. The risks of explosion would be incredibly high.
How does Addison Bain's experiment results lead to the conclusion that the skin of the hindenburg was the major cause of the disaster?
✰ Addison Bain used the original film frottage to try and explain the Hindenburg disaster. Through this source he realized that that the Hindenburg did now explode but burned rapidly, and the airship did not burn upward. Bain, NASA and many eye witnesses worked together throughout years matching their testimonies
with possible theories about the disaster. After being given the opportunity to examine files from the zeppelin company they key to the mystery was found.
✰ The atmospheric conditions and the method of landing at Lakehurst could result insevere electrostatic discharge activity on the airship. The lacquer doped fabric envelope of the airship was tested and found to be very flammable and could be successfully ignited using electrical arc sources. The materials used in the
makeup of the envelope, other airship construction materials and the hydrogen used for buoyancy all could have contributed to the resulting conflagration. Meaning that although the Hydrogen caused much of the damage, it was not what ignited the fire.
Sources:
✿ http://chemed.chem.wisc.edu/chempaths/GenChem-Textbook/Exceptions-to-the-Octet-Rule-573.html
✿ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/basics/srb/index.html
✿ http://spot.colorado.edu/~dziadeck/zf/LZ129fire2005jan12.pdf
✿ http://dl.clackamas.cc.or.us/ch104-08/octet.htm
✿ http://www.esdjournal.com/articles/hindenbrg/hindburg.htm
✿ http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Samples/013.13/s14s.JPG
✿ http://chemed.chem.wisc.edu/chempaths/GenChem-Textbook/Exceptions-to-the-Octet-Rule-573.html
✿ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/basics/srb/index.html
✿ http://spot.colorado.edu/~dziadeck/zf/LZ129fire2005jan12.pdf
✿ http://dl.clackamas.cc.or.us/ch104-08/octet.htm
✿ http://www.esdjournal.com/articles/hindenbrg/hindburg.htm
✿ http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Samples/013.13/s14s.JPG