For many years, natural gas was discarded as worthless. Even today, some countries (although not the United States) still get rid of it by burning it in giant flares, so large they can be seen from the Space Shuttle. Yet, it is one of the most valuable fuels we have.
- Natural gas has no odor. A chemical called Mercaptan is added to it to produce a rotten egg smell. This assists the utility in identify gas leaks.
- Natural gas will change from a gas to a liquid if it is cooled to 260 degrees below zero.
- All of the natural gas we use today began as microscopic plants and animals living in the ocean millions of years ago.
- Natural gas will not burn by itself. A suitable mixture of air and gas must exists before it will be combustible.
- When natural gas is burned, it emits carbon dioxide and water vapor. The same elements are produced by humans when we exhale.
- Across the United States, over one million miles of underground gas pipelines exist.
- Natural gas is lighter than air.
- In 1885, Robert Bunsen invented a burner that mixed air with natural gas. The "Bunsen burner" showed how gas could be used to provide heat for cooking and warming buildings.
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