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I wonder how high you would need to go before the lack of oxygen would make the hydrogen impossible to burn.
by xhrpost 12y ago
I wonder how high you would need to go before the lack of oxygen would make the hydrogen impossible to burn.
- ars 12y agoHydrogen burns very easily, but it doesn't matter. If you had a hydrogen leak at altitude you have bigger problems: You are about to fall. The fire and fuel is much lighter than air and would quickly rise away from you, so there is no hazard there. See the UFL for the numbers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammability_limit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammability_limit
- dshankar 12y agoThe risk (usually) isn't at high altitude but during the initial process of inflating the balloon with hydrogen. Static is especially dangerous.
- ars 12y agoOnly if there is oxygen, and there should be no oxygen inside the balloon. Any hydrogen leak would rapidly rise away so it's actually quite safe. Certainly much safer than gasoline and we use that every day - including sparks.