John Carroll University Carroll Collected 2017 Faculty Bibliography Faculty Bibliographies Community Homepage 5-2017 The indeH nburg disaster: Combining physics and history in the laboratory Gregory A. DiLisi John Carroll University,
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[email protected]. The Hindenburg Disaster: Combining Physics and History in the Laboratory Gregory A. DiLisi, John Carroll University, University Heights, OH his May marks the 80th why certain events unfolded. anniversary of the Hin- Far from being a set of agreed denburg disaster. On May upon immutable facts, the T6, 1937, the German passenger historical record is open to zeppelin Hindenburg, hovering reexamination and reinterpre- 300 feet in the air and held aloft by tation. seven million cubic feet of hydro- The case study also demon- gen gas, burst into flames while strates to students the “perfect preparing to dock at the Naval storm scenario” —how a pro- Air Station in Lakehurst, NJ (Fig. gression of unlikely or unfore- 1). Amazingly, the ensuing fire seen events often results in a consumed the massive airship in catastrophic failure.