Eli5: Why gas smells when it comes out of the stove, but stops when it becomes a flame?
In: Chemistry
Ethyl Mercaptan is what makes propane gas smell. It’s an additive that is combined with liquified petroleum gas, or LPG, to alert users of a leak since most of these are odorless and colorless. It burns off when ignited. So no more smell.
Mercaptans (another gas that smells bad) is added to natural gas so someone can smell if the gas is on but not lit. Once lit it burns with the gas
Because combustion is a chemical reaction that rips apart the chemical compounds in the gas and turns them into other compounds. Natural gas on its own doesn’t smell. Since this would be hazardous if there were a gas leak, gas companies add odorant chemicals like [methyl mercaptan](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanethiol) to give the gas a distinct unpleasant odor that makes leak detection easy. Since methyl mercaptan is itself a flammable gas, it burns up and is chemically destroyed with the natural gas.
Smelly gas add to no smelly gas to make smelly gas. Fire kill smell. Flame is fire so flame no smell.
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