Gas stove

In cooking, a gas stove is a cooker/stove which uses natural gas, propane, butane, liquefied petroleum gas or other flammable gas as a fuel source. Prior to the advent of gas, cooking stoves relied on solid fuel such as coal or wood. The first gas stoves were developed in the 1820s, and a gas stove factory was established in England in 1836. This new cooking technology had the advantage that it was easily adjustable and could be turned off when not in use. However the gas stove did not become a commercial success until the 1880s, by which time a supply of piped gas was available in large towns in Britain. The stoves became widespread on the European Continent and in the United States in the early 20th century.

Gas stoves became less unwieldy when the oven was integrated into the base and the size was reduced to fit in better with the rest of the kitchen furniture. By the 1910s, producers started to enamel their gas stoves for easier cleaning. Ignition of the gas was originally by match and this was followed by the more convenient pilot light. This had the disadvantage of a continual consumption of gas. The oven still needed to be lit by match, and accidentally turning on the gas without igniting it could lead to an explosion. To prevent these types of accidents, oven manufacturers developed and installed a safety valve called a flame failure device for gas hobs and ovens. Most modern gas stoves have electronic ignition, automatic timers for the oven and extractor hoods to remove fumes.

Gas

Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or compound molecules made from a variety of atoms (e.g. carbon dioxide). A gas mixture would contain a variety of pure gases much like the air. What distinguishes a gas from liquids and solids is the vast separation of the individual gas particles. This separation usually makes a colorless gas invisible to the human observer. The interaction of gas particles in the presence of electric and gravitational fields are considered negligible as indicated by the constant velocity vectors in the image. One type of commonly known gas is steam.

The gaseous state of matter is found between the liquid and plasma states, the latter of which provides the upper temperature boundary for gases. Bounding the lower end of the temperature scale lie degenerative quantum gases which are gaining increasing attention. High-density atomic gases super cooled to incredibly low temperatures are classified by their statistical behavior as either a Bose gas or a Fermi gas. For a comprehensive listing of these exotic states of matter see list of states of matter.

Gas (musician)

Gas is a music project of Wolfgang Voigt (born 1961), a Cologne, Germany-based electronic musician. Voigt cites his youthful LSD experiences in the Königsforst, a German forest situated near his hometown of Köln, as the inspiration behind his work under the name Gas. He has claimed that the intention of the project is to "bring the forest to the disco, or vice-versa".

Aliases and projects

Voigt is known for his numerous, nearly inexhaustible list of one-off projects and aliases. Of these, his best known is arguably Gas, a project that saw the marriage of ambient music and 4/4 techno.

Other names under which Voigt has released music include, but are not limited to, All, Auftrieb, Brom, C.K. Decker, Centrifugal Force, Crocker, Dextro NRG, Dieter Gorny, Digital, Dom, Doppel, Filter, Freiland, Fuchsbau, Gelb, Grungerman, Kafkatrax, Love Inc., M:I:5, Mike Ink, Mint, Panthel, Popacid, Riss, RX7, Split Inc., Strass, Studio 1, Tal, Vinyl Countdown, W.V., Wassermann, and X-Lvis.

Characteristics

Gas (1981 film)

(not to be confused with a similar sounding 1970 film Gas-s-s-s)

Gas is a 1981 Canadian comedy film released by Paramount Pictures, the plot of which was inspired by the 1979 energy crisis.

Plot summary

A small Midwestern town is thrown into chaos when the local oil tycoon (Sterling Hayden) orchestrates a phony oil shortage in order to increase profits. A news reporter (Susan Anspach) tries to uncover the plot, and a radio DJ in a helicopter (Donald Sutherland) reports on the craziness caused by the gasoline shortage.

Cast