water gasn.
/ˈwɔːtə ɡas/, U.S. /ˈwɔdər ˌɡæs/, /ˈwɑdər ˌɡæs/ 1. Water vapour. Now rare.
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the world > matter > gas > [noun] > fumes or vapour > water in the form of
water gas1809
1809 Philos. Mag. 33 180 We are far from being certain that the air contains any water gas at all.
1881 J. W. Judd Volcanoes 22 The whole mass passes at once into the condition of steam or water-gas.
1914 U.S. Patent 1,098,031 3/1 Water gas or vapor is generated very freely.
2. A gas consisting mainly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, produced by passing steam over hot carbon (e.g. coke or anthracite).Water gas is used as a synthesis gas for the production of hydrogen and other gases, and was formerly used (usually mixed with coal gas) as a fuel for heating and lighting.
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the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > organic gases > [noun] > water-gas
blue gas1826
water gas1833
blue water-gas1888
1833 Satirist 8 Sept. 158/3 Before long, the tradesman, whose shop is lighted with water-gas, will be calling in the aid of steam to extinguish the water-born flames.
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. II. 960 So serious have been the consequences of the inhalation of ‘water gas’ that some English public bodies have been obliged to do away with it.
1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxviii. 468 The ordinary form of water-gas burns with a blue flame.
1965 Irish Independent 24 Mar. 4/7 The quality of the final gas is also in advance of what is economically possible in coal carbonisation or water gas manufacture.
2000 New Scientist 19 Aug. 97/1 It [sc. producer gas] is..enhanced by introducing waste steam into the generator to increase its hydrogen content, producing what is then known as ‘water gas’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2015; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1809