Ten Things You Didn't Even Know You Wanted To Know About Gas

Gas: the very word conjures up images of slightly shimmery air and, well, not much else, apart from a distinct smell of faintly rotten eggs, perhaps. Gas is an integral part of our lives: we use it to cook our food, heat us in the winter and, for those who live in very old houses, light our rooms. But how much do you actually know about natural gas? We present 10 gas facts for your inspection and perusal.

1) The danger of gas explosions is relatively small, but carbon monoxide produced by gas central-heating systems can be fatal. In the UK, landlords are not only obliged to make safety checks on all relevant heating appliances but also to check for the dangers of carbon monoxide.

2) Although methane is arguably the most important component of natural gas, there are other gases including butane, ethane and propane, all of which have commercial applications. These gases end in the suffix “–ane” because they are all chemical compounds known as alkanes. Not all words that end in this suffix are alkanes, Jane, for instance. Jane is a girl's name.

3) Natural gas is a fossil fuel and is formed when organic materials, such as the remains of dinosaurs, are compressed and decay deep beneath the earth causing the dinosaur to break down into constituent parts. One of the many things that natural gas is used to produce is plastics, such as those used to create plastic toy dinosaurs. This is not the circle of life that Disney was talking about.

4) Because methane has a low density, transporting gas is one of the most challenging aspects of the industry. Legend has it that one of the earliest methods of transportation was to cup a small amount in a worker’s hands. This worker then had to squeeze their hands tightly together and run to a customer’s premises where they would charge a shilling for each of what came to be known as “guffs”.

5) Because natural gas ordinarily has no smell, smellier elements such as ethyl mercaptan are added to the mix, thus allowing people to notice the presence of danger in the form of too much gas in the air. A similar process is being trialled to protect against Kerry Katona.

6) Gas provides a very controllable means of cooking food. Indeed, the phrase “cooking on gas” has entered the language and refers to an operation that is going well or is likely to succeed.

7) One of the most well-known applications of natural gas was created in 1855 when Robert Bunsen, a teacher at the University of Heidelberg, created a system of mixing gas and air to create a device that produced a non-smoky flame, ideal for experimentation. Seven minutes after he introduced his invention, Bunsen’s male students were using it to set girls' ponytails on fire.

8) Methane from natural gas is made up of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms, giving it a chemical formula of CH4. As a result, ITV and the BBC feel a little left out.

9) Natural gas has been adapted for use by mankind for centuries. Around 500BC the Chinese used bamboo as pipelines to channel gas from natural reserves so that they could boil sea water and remove the salt, making it drinkable.

10) When processing natural gas, sulphur is one of several byproducts. As well as stink bombs, sulphur is also used to make the matches that are often used to ignite the methane that comes from the hob, a process which reunites two constituent parts of natural gas. Beautiful.