Hi all, What is the grey rock like material that was in the canisters used by the military? To use you added water to the material and the hydrogen was used to inflate a balloon. Mike
WW II Canister+ water= Hydrogen
Aug 20, 2006
3 Replies
Are you sure you're not talking about calcium carbide? It is a gray rock and when you add water you get acetylene. It is often used in mining lamps.
Don Kansas City
No, I think he means the cans used in emergency kits for inflating a balloon to raise an antenna for a crank-powered transmitter. When I was a kid, my dad had one of these kits. You add seawater to the can, and it makes hydrogen. The kit also contained a box kite in case the gas generator or balloon were used or lost.
Didn't they also have a striper jig in case you got hungry?
Bret Cahill
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