A thread of 2 messages, 19 April 1990 to 19 April 1990, in the order they were sent.
Excuse me, but I don't understand how you can have more hydrogen in one cubic meter of liquid methane than in one cubic meter of liquid hydrogen. Just how is this accomplished, or did I miss something in Chemistry class? In one meter cubed of LH2, it's ALL hydrogen, right? Now in one meter cubed of NH3, it's not all hydrogen, but some of the space is taken up by nitrogen atoms. So how can you save space by carrying methane, or anything else? Hmmm? Chris
Chris, I tend to think you're correct. Liquid H2 has a density much lower than that of CH4. CH4 molecules are not much bigger than H2 molecules, but contain twice the number of hydrogren atoms. Also, the forces that cause the molecules to liquify may be stronger in the CH4, so the CH4 molecules are more closely packed. I think this is likely; doesn't CH4 liquify at a higher temperature than H2? Wouldn't more polar molecules do even better, getting real friendly with each other (oops they just solidified)? Sorry, my chemistry's a little rusty too. James