Natural gas shrinks six hundred times when turned into liquid
To fuel a continent, engineers must freeze gas until it mimics the density of water, allowing a single ship to carry enough energy to power a city for months.
Transporting natural gas across oceans is a feat of extreme physics that requires chilling the fuel to a staggering minus 162 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, the gas undergoes a dramatic transformation into a clear, odorless liquid, shrinking to just one-six-hundredth of its original volume. This massive reduction in size is the only way to make long-distance shipping viable, as it allows a single tanker to carry the same amount of energy as 600 vessels filled with uncompressed gas.
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