• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 618 4351
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

The “Broom Test”: One Of The Stupidest Things That Ever Took Place At NASA

January 31, 2023 by Deborah Bloomfield

Here are a few problems which probably won’t affect you unless you work at NASA: hydrogen burns with a very pale blue flame that is almost invisible in daylight, hydrogen is highly flammable, and hydrogen tends to leak through the tiniest of cracks.

“That makes it a hazard, as the element is highly flammable, to the point where high-pressure joint leaks can cause combustion,” NASA explained in a 2015 post. “As a result, detecting leaks is a top priority, but it’s also a challenge, because the gas—and the flame it emits—are odorless and colorless.”

Advertisement

In 2003, NASA and the Florida Solar Energy Center came up with a solution in the form of a tape that changes color when exposed to the element. Before that, ultraviolet sensors were used to detect flames. The solution used before that, however, was far less dignified – and a whole lot more fun. 

“Given those stakes, imagine the task of having to monitor liquid hydrogen as it flows through a few miles of pipeline—which is what NASA had to do in preparation for every Shuttle launch, when hundreds of thousands of gallons were transferred from a holding tank to the launch pad for fueling,” NASA explained. “In the Apollo days, detecting a flame from one of those leaks was accomplished by using the ‘broom’ method, whereby workers would take a broom and walk around with the head stretched out in front of them. If the head began to burn, there was a leak.”

The solution was practical and clearly worked, even if it probably wasn’t the most reassuring sight to see the “is my broom on fire” test conducted at an organization that hurls people into space. The broom method was also used by firefighters responding to hydrogen fires. Thankfully it has been superseded by better methods, which aren’t as susceptible to it being a bit windy outdoors.

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. Tennis-Raducanu surprises herself with U.S. Open run
  2. Netflix is acquiring the rights to Roald Dahl’s books
  3. Russia’s Gazprom feels the heat over Europe’s red-hot gas prices
  4. Why Did Humans Lose Their Fur? Scientists Uncover New Genetic Clues

Source Link: The "Broom Test": One Of The Stupidest Things That Ever Took Place At NASA

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • Trinitite Is Atomic Rock Forged By The Fireballs Of Nuclear Bombs
  • Why Sitting With Crossed Legs Could Be Bad For You
  • In US First, Utah Kids Are Banned From Social Media Unless Their Parents Consent
  • Frozen Bubbles Form In Canada’s Abraham Lake
  • Gold Literally Grows On Trees In Australia
  • There’s A Jellyfish In The Ocean That Looks Just Like A Fried Egg
  • Misophonia, The Hatred Of Specific Noises, Is Way More Common Than We Thought
  • The Entomologist Who Grew Botfly Larvae In His Arm, And Filmed It
  • Does Eating A Fig Always Involve Eating Dead Wasps? Yes And No
  • Google And Bing’s AI Chatbots Appear To Be Citing Each Other’s Lies
  • The Multiverse: How We’re Tackling The Challenges Facing The Theory
  • China Plans World’s Largest “Ghost Particle” Detector 1 Kilometer Under The Ocean
  • Volunteers Are Transcribing The Notebooks Of Scientist Who Inspired Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
  • Massive Hole In Sun’s Atmosphere Cracked Open And Auroras Are Coming
  • Abandoned and Unloved, A Stone Giant Lies On The Island Of Naxos
  • The Largest Silver Nugget Ever Found Weighed More Than An American Bison
  • How Ancient Greek Philosophers And Mythology Saw The End Of The World
  • A Colossal Ecosystem Teeming With Life Is Below Earth’s Surface
  • Ancient 3,500-Year-Old Bronze Hand Is A Mystery To Archaeologists
  • The “Obesity Paradox” Doesn’t Exist
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 618 4351
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2023 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version