Ssssssssteam Heat
“So really, the boiler is just a big water tank that has some tubes running through it that contain air heated from a constantly burning fire.”
“That’s an oversimplification of it, but yes, basically, that’s correct,” Matt Mowen said as we squatted next to an emergency release valve on the number three boiler.
“And the boilers produce steam that goes from here—” I stood up and visually followed the long metal pipe as it snaked up the metal girder to disappear into a gigantic pillowy shape above us that I had been informed was technically called an envelope—“and fills the envelope, which keeps the Tesla floating.”
“Yes. Boilers one and two feed the fore and middle envelopes. Number three, here, feeds the aft envelopes, and the propellers. She’s twice the size of one an
