Methane is a colorless, odorless gas with the chemical formula CH₄, consisting of one carbon atom surrounded by four hydrogen atoms in a perfect tetrahedral arrangement. As the simplest hydrocarbon and primary component of natural gas, methane was first isolated by Alessandro Volta in 1776 from marsh gas bubbling up from lake sediments. This remarkable molecule serves as both Earth’s cleanest-burning fossil fuel and a potent greenhouse gas 28 times more powerful than CO₂ over a century, creating a complex environmental paradox. From the depths of the ocean where it forms exotic ice-like clathrates, to the digestive systems of cows and termites, to the lakes of Saturn’s moon Titan, methane is ubiquitous throughout our solar system and plays crucial roles in energy, climate, and possibly even the origin of life itself.

Find a review of the 50 most important industrial gases here.

20 Fun Facts About Methane

Beyond the basics above, what else should we know about Methane? Check out the 20 fun facts below!

1. Cows burp out 250-500 liters of methane daily, with global cattle producing 100 million tons annually – more than the oil industry.
2. Methane clathrates on ocean floors contain twice as much carbon as all other fossil fuels combined, potentially 10 trillion tons.
3. The molecule completes 10¹² rotations per second at room temperature, making it one of the fastest-spinning molecules.
4. Titan’s methane lakes are so cold (-179°C) that methane ice would float like regular ice does in Earth water.
5. Termites produce 20 million tons of methane annually, making them the second-largest natural source after wetlands.
6. The “door to hell” in Turkmenistan has burned methane continuously since 1971 when Soviet drillers ignited a gas pocket.
7. Methane becomes metallic at 200 GPa pressure, potentially existing in this exotic state inside Uranus and Neptune.
8. Rice paddies emit 60 million tons of methane yearly because flooded soils create perfect conditions for methanogenic bacteria.
9. The gas liquefies at -161.5°C, shrinking to 1/600th its gas volume – enabling efficient LNG shipping worldwide.
10. Methane’s tetrahedral bond angles are exactly 109.47°, making it the textbook example of sp³ hybridization.
11. Arctic permafrost contains 1,700 billion tons of carbon that releases methane when thawing, accelerating climate change.
12. The molecule burns with an invisible flame in pure oxygen, requiring cobalt chloride additives to make flames visible.
13. Landfills produce methane for 30-50 years after closure, with some sites powering thousands of homes from captured gas.
14. Methane rain falls on Titan at 1.5 cm/year, carving river channels and filling lakes in a complete hydrological cycle.
15. Deep-sea worms lack digestive systems, relying entirely on methane-eating bacteria in their tissues for nutrition.
16. The gas explodes between 5-15% concentration in air, making coal mine “firedamp” historically deadly to miners.
17. Siberian reindeer herders notice methane seeps by following unusual circular patches where grass grows greener year-round.
18. Methane forms naturally in meteorites, suggesting organic chemistry occurs throughout the solar system without life.
19. Power plants burning methane achieve 60% efficiency in combined cycle systems, versus 33% for coal plants.
20. Mars rovers detected methane spikes of 7 ppb that mysteriously appear and vanish, possibly indicating subsurface life.

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