I understand the natural gas comes into my house from the street. I don’t really understand much about how it’s all collected, but my question is this:
Gas comes out out of the stovetop and the gas is ignited and a little fire exists on top of the oven. Ok.
But…why doesn’t the fire cause all of the gas to burn and explode? Like working backwards from the stovetop to the gas piping in my wall, to the meter, and the gas pipes coming into my house form the utility company? I don’t understand why the first doesn’t trace backwards from where the gas comes from and burn and explode everything. How does it stop?
In: 1
The **flame front** cannot trace back into pipe because there is no oxygen in the pipe — only pure gas.
Having said that, if you open valve but don’t light it then gas will gush, pool and accumulate into a gas cloud that DOES have access oxygen. Then with the first spark…KABOOM.
It can flatten a house.
That’s why you don’t tarry in lighting once you open the valve: Don’t let gas accumulate in a cloud in free air where it can mix with oxygen
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