Nazi Hydrogen Technology

As many of you know, one of the main problems in switching to Hydrogen fuel cells in cars is that it is really expensive to isolate elemental hydrogen since it likes to bond to other elements. The history channel was running a couple of shows today on the Hindenburg and other rigid airships. Does anyone know the specific methods that the Nazis used to isolate hydrogen back then? The graf Zepplin and Hindenburg were the several tons in mass and the size of 2-3 football fields in length. I'm thinking that to isolate that much hydrogen for so many flights, they had to have perfected some method to fill up and lift up those bad boys.

Undoubtibly eletroyosis, I would think back in the 30's they would have known of no other way than electroyosis.

That's what I was thinking initially. But the yield is extremely low,lwhich is what led me to think that there could have been another extraction or an improvement on basic electrolysis.
On a similar note, does anyone know how the liquid hydrogen would be isolated for the rockets used in the apollo age as well as the liquid booster in the 'current' (quarter century old) generation of Rockets with the space shuttle?

I would suspect through natural gas. Natural gas is the main source of Hydrogen ATM moment and I don't think it would have been too difficult for the Germans to obtain through the following reaction. Requires high temperatures, but not too absurd.

CH4 + H2O = CO + 3H2


EDIT: Check wiki for more info.

[edit on 6/16/2005 by Amorymeltzer]

Helium was liquified at near the turn of the century, and thus the means to produce and store very cold gases has been around since 1910ish.

Although electroyosis produces little H2 considering the power used to make it, it would not leak from the blimp in any serious rate and would thus me a "static" onetime cash payment to fill it. More interesting is how the Germans produced enough volitile fuels for the large amount of rockets, missles, and rocket intercepters during the war, not to mention any synthetic fuels for their army and airforce.

Originally posted by Raideur
More interesting is how the Germans produced enough volitile fuels for the large amount of rockets, missles, and rocket intercepters during the war, not to mention any synthetic fuels for their army and airforce.

Long story, but in short they were poor, devoted the entire country to war, and controlled a large portion of Europe.

Poor?! Where did you get that one from?

I think they mean because of the Treaty of Versaille (if my spelling is crap then i apologise) After World War 1 the Germans had to pay the allies for all the damage they caused so they were kind of poor.

[edit on 18-6-2005 by UK_05_XM29]

At one point in time, they obviously were. At the start of war, Germany was richer than many other European countries. In 1929 and afterwards, the US wasn't exactly in the best economical shape either you know...

Yes. Germany was in a terrible depression post WWI, and they pulled out of it with WWII. You do that by getting everyone to work. A depression is a *good* way to start a war to get everyone working again.