methanen.
/ˈmiːθeɪn/, U.S. /ˈmɛˌθeɪn/ Chemistry.
A colourless, odourless, highly flammable gas, CH4, the simplest of the alkanes, which is produced by decaying organic matter and in the guts of ruminants, occurs in natural gas and coal gas, and is used as a fuel. Cf. firedamp n., marsh gas n.
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the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > hydrocarbons > [noun] > alkanes > straight-chained by number of carbon atoms > one
methane1867
1867 A. W. Hofmann in Proc. Royal Soc. 1866–7 15 58 According to this principle the following names are formed: Methane, (C H4)0. Ethane, (C2 H6)0. Propane, (C3 H8)0. Quartane, (C4 H10)0 [etc.].
1868 H. B. Jones & H. Watts Fownes's Man. Elem. Chem. (ed. 10) 178 Methane or Marsh Gas..Fire-damp.—This gas is but too often found to be abundantly disengaged in coal mines.
1899 J. Cagney tr. R. von Jaksch Clin. Diagnosis (ed. 4) vii. 383 The urine held hydrogen, nitrogen,..and probably methan.
1911 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 774/1 Methane is an exceedingly stable gas, being unaffected by the action of chromic acid, [etc.].
1931 U.S. Bureau of Mines Techn. Paper No. 483. 2 The natural gas employed was composed almost entirely of methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6).
1957 Times 27 Nov. 14/2 Liquid methane, for use as ‘town gas’ could be brought by sea to London and added to the gas supply.
1988 BioFactors 1 95/1 Methanogenic bacteria..derive their energy for growth from the hydrogen-dependent reduction of CO2 to methane.
1999 South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) 11 Oct. 14/4 To control landfill gas, which contains methane, a flammable gas, an extensive network of extraction wells were installed.
Compounds
C1. General attributive and appositive, as methane derivative, methane gas, methane molecule, etc.
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1877 H. Watts Fownes's Man. Chem. (ed. 12) II. 39 Methane-derivatives, or fatty group.
1922 J. J. Sudborough Bernthsen's Text-bk. Org. Chem. (new ed.) xvii. 368 The hexahydro-benzenes are transformed with difficulty into hydrocarbons of the methane series when heated with hydriodic acid at 280°.
1936 Pop. Mech. July 34/1 They have used the bacteria to generate methane gas from the sulphite waste discarded by pulp paper mills.
1953 R. A. Heinlein Starman Jones x. 120 It has a methane atmosphere unbreathable by humans.
1971 C. J. White Introd. Coal Mining Industry vii. 77 This problem of the drainage of methane gas in coal mines is one that had to be tackled from time immemorial.
1992 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 3 Dec. 33/4 The methane molecule is a tetrahedron, with a carbon atom at the center and a hydrogen atom at each of the four vertices.
1994 W. Maples & M. Browning Dead Men do tell Tales iii. 38 The body swells, becomes distended with methane gas.
C2. In the names of compounds, or types of compound, that are derived from or contain methane.
methane hydrate n. [compare French hydrate de méthane (1887 in Comptes Rendus de l'Acad. des Sci. 106 1602)] a crystalline solid consisting of methane molecules trapped under pressure in ice in a clathrate structure.
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1888 Chem. News 24 Aug. 96/1 (heading) On Methane and Ethylene Hydrates.
1951 Jrnl. Chem. Physics 19 259/1 Gas hydrates, such as methane hydrate, have been known for many years.
1990 J. Leggett Global Warming i. 40 Methane hydrates, ice-like solids comprising a network of water crystals and methane gas trapped under pressure within it,..occur below the permafrost and in the offshore areas of the Arctic.
methane sulphonic acid n. (also methane sulfonic acid) a corrosive substance, CH3SO2OH, which melts at around room temperature (&c.20°C) and is used as a catalyst in esterification, alkylation, and polymerization reactions.
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1892 H. F. Morley & M. M. P. Muir Watts' Dict. Chem. (rev. ed.) III. 252/2 Methane sulphonic acid,..syrup which decomposes above 130°.
1987 New Scientist 26 Nov. 33/3 Traces of methanesulphonic acid (MSA) found in cores drilled from the Antarctic ice have provided more information about biological activity in the oceans during the most recent ice age.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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