Greetings Stephen, (and Mr. Beene as well) >From Stephen A. Lawrence
... > There is something peculiar here. Hydrogen burns with an invisible > flame. An _orange_ fireball had to be due to something else then, > right? Or is it possible that there was enough crud mixed with the > hydrogen to color the flame? (Orange flame typically means sodium, at > least in a typical kitchen.) > > Besides, I thought the footage of the Hindenberg was all black and > white? (But maybe that's just because I grew up with a B&W television > set, and the first place I saw those newsreels was on that set.) I yield to your memories on this subject. I'm sure the original film was most likely B&W. No doubt the color "Orange" was added (for effect) later. However, I personally recall seeing demonstrations of burning hydrogen in a lab. The instructor would fill balloons with "pure" hydrogen then ignite the balloon with a torch. After the balloon popped I always recalled seeing an "orange" flame linger for a fraction of a second before disappearing. Were there impurities in the hydrogen? Perhaps. I really don't know. OTOH, when the instructor mixed oxygen in with the hydrogen and torched the balloon there would be a much more impressive explosion - and no orange flame that I could discern. Never the less, with that said, after reading Mr. Beens's comments about the advantages helium have over hydrogen I think I'll switch my opinion back to favoring helium. It's never too late to admit one's that one's opinions might have been flawed. Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com
