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Alternative fuels: The dangers of hydrogen fuel

Hydrogen can be Safe

Any combustible fuel used in the engine of a vehicle must provide a source of energy. Hydrogen is no exception, and as a gas it shares characteristics with propane and methane.
All such gases are explosive given suitable conditions . Gasoline, when it evaporates and forms a gas, is also highly explosive in precisely the same manner. In North America gasoline is used every day, millions of gallons of it, yet the safety record of gasoline is not questioned by the general public.

The reader may quickly offer the Hindenberg dirigible disaster(1) of May 6th, 1937, at Lakehurst, New Jersey, as an example of the dangers of hydrogen; an accident in which the hydrogen-filled dirigible caught fire, possibly initiated by lightning, and subsequently burned and crashed .
Although hydrogen did not cause the Hindenberg fire, upon considering that tragedy, the first impulse is to question the overall safety of using hydrogen for any purpose, much less as car fuel.

As an appropriate digression in the discussion of safety of hydrogen, the Hindenberg was 804 feet long and the structure was filled with over seven million cubic feet of gaseous Hydrogen. Subsequent investigation concluded that the accident was more likely caused by a observed blue arc, probably lightning, or a electrostatic discharge from the skin of the craft which was covered with flammable cellulose nitrate or cellulose acetate, also coated with flecks of aluminum The skin cover was used to improve aerodynamics and rigidity.. That combination was, however, also extremely flammable.
The German Zeppelin makers were quite aware of this fact in 1937; a handwritten letter in the Zeppelin Archive states, "The actual cause of the fire was the extreme, easy flammability of the covering material brought about by discharges of an electrostatic nature."(2) The hydrogen fed the fire that consumed the airship, but it did not exacerbate the tragedy by exploding, as is incorrectly believed. Regardless, the Hindenberg incident caused the general public to believe hydrogen is unsafe for use as a fuel,

Back to the safety of hydrogen as fuel for your car. Propane and natural gas are already in use today for fuel for vehicles and maintain a good safety record. Both are used in liqid/gaseous form. Hydrogen can be similarly used in a safe manner.
Hydrogen has been historically stored as a gas under high pressure, or as liquid, at cold temperatures . Hydrogen-powered


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