How is a zeppelin different from a blimp?

Question

Besides the fact that zeppelins were a product of Gemany during the two world wars, I mean. What are the differences physically?

Answer 1

Zeppelins were not the only rigids, but probably the most advanced for their time. The American Rigid airships were based on the Zeppelin designs. Zeppelin still makes airships, I believe they are "semi- rigid" with partial structure.

   Hydrogen is no longer used for the airships seen most often today, but it is used for some high altitude balloons.

One of the stories about how Blimps got there name was of an officer who struck the side of a non-rigid airship and thought the sound funny, and called it after the sound- "Blimp". Maybe true, maybe not.

     The basic differences are:

                   All are "Airships"

                        Rigid- full structure

                        semi rigid partial structure.

                        non rigid -non rigids have no structure in the main envelope, but have a "ballonet" that is basically a lung of outside air inside that inflates and deflates to hold the shape of the blimp while the helium expands and contracts.

Answer 2

Zeppelins was and is a brand name for airships built in Germany.  They are considered to be dirigibles.  Dirigibles have an internal metal skeleton covered with rubberized fabric.  The difference is, a blimp (Goodyear) does not have that internal structure.  A blimps holds it's shape only from the air and gas pressure inside.  Blimps are much smaller and thus much less expensive than any of the dirigibles ever built.

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Answer 3

Zeppelin is the worlds greatest rock band ever! A blimp is a fat guy/girl.

Answer 4

A blimp is nonrigid, buoyant airship.  A zeppelin is rigid airship having a long cylindrical body supported by internal gas cells  The zeppelin was named after Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838-1917) who who designed and built the first rigid motorized dirigiblem which is a steerable self-propelled aircraft.  One of the most famous zeppelins was  the ill-fated Hindenburg: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindenburg_...

Answer 5

Zeppelins of that era were rigid frames covered with fabric, and inside they had gas bags suspended that were full of hydrogen. Blimps are not rigid. They are basically big balloons. They are filled with helium, rather than highly-explosive hydrogen. If you let the helium out, the whole blimp goes flat. The word Blimp is a morph of the U.S. Military designation, "Airship, Model B, Limp".

Answer 6

Well there you have it! Rigid frame for a Zeppelin, fabric covered, and relatively steerable...

Blimps are balloons for the most part, and for the most part are tethered while in use (observation platforms) or anti-aircraft entanglements.

Answer 7

As well as the previous answer dealing with the framework and the US Naval designation the lifting gas for a Zepplin was hydrogen and for a blimp it is helium.

Answer 8

ericbryce2 answer is not quite right, despite it having 4 thumbs up.

Dirigible means it can steer, it has directional control surfaces.

Nothing to do with it being "Rigid", as ppl often make that mistake.

Also, IIRC, if a balloon has a capacity of 0.5 million cubic feet it is designated as an Airship, steerable or not.

And furthermore, the word Blimp has nothing to do with B class Limp, the word Blimp was in the Oxford ENGLISH dictionary at least 12 months before the American B class was designed.  And, even the Americans wouldn't have officially classed a piece of expensive equipment as "Limp".

One day, they will be back.  Check out Cargolifter on Google.  Presently mothballed but with all this garbage about fuel saving, global warming.........a massive Airship is a possible answer.

Answer 9

The US filled its rigid airships with helium.  The US government refused to sell helium to Germany because of gathering war clouds in the late 1930s, so Germany continued to use hydrogen, with disasterous results.  (See LZ-129 Hindenburg)

Zeppelins were not used in World War 2, except for a few research flights by the one remaining Zeppelin, the LZ-130, which was dismantled during the war.

Answer 10

A zeppelin has a rigid structure inside, while a blimp is just like a big balloon.   So if you took all the gas out a zeppelin would stay pretty much the same shape but a blimp would collapse.