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| | [[Image:Halo 3 Grunt.jpg|200px|thumb|The only known species to breathe methane, the [[Unggoy]]]]'''Methane''' is a chemical compound with the molecular formula CH4. It is the simplest alkane, and the principal component of natural gas. Methane's bond angles are 109.5 degrees. Burning one molecule of methane in the presence of oxygen releases one molecule of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and two molecules of [[Water|H<sub>2</sub>O]]: |
| {{Wikipedia|Methane}}
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| [[File:HW2_MethaneFirebase.png|thumb|300px|A UNSC [[Firebase]] covered in methane.]] | |
| '''Methane''' is a chemical compound with the molecular formula CH<sub>4</sub>. It is the simplest alkane, and the principal component of natural gas. Methane's bond angles are 109.5 degrees. Burning one molecule of methane in the presence of [[oxygen]] releases one molecule of CO<sub>2</sub> (carbon dioxide) and two molecules of [[Water|H<sub>2</sub>O]]. | |
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| Methane is a relatively potent greenhouse gas with a high global warming potential of 72 (averaged over 20 years) or 25 (averaged over 100 years). Methane in the atmosphere is eventually oxidized, producing carbon dioxide and [[water]]. As a result, methane in the atmosphere has a half life of seven years (every seven years, the amount of methane halves). Methane's relative abundance and clean burning process makes it a very attractive fuel. However, because it is a gas (at normal temperature and pressure; see STP), methane is difficult to transport from its source. In its natural gas form, it is generally transported in bulk by pipe or LNG carriers.
| | :CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O |
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| The only known species that uses methane instead of oxygen in respiration are the [[Unggoy]]. Their home planet, [[Balaho]] has an atmosphere which is mostly methane. Because of this, the Unggoy use [[methane tank]]s and breathing apparatus when operating outside their native environment. While methane is needed for a Grunt to live, Grunts enjoy another gas, [[Wikipedia:Benzene|benzene]], as a drug, calling it "lovely lung gold" and "sacred aromatic".<ref>'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 237''</ref> Additionally, the Unggoy frequently mix narcotics called [[infusion]]s into their methane supplies.<ref name="CH">'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''pages 150-151''</ref> The lungs of the [[SPARTAN-IV Program|SPARTAN-IVs]] are augmented to process a variety of toxins and foreign gases, potentially allowing them to breathe methane for around an hour.<ref>'''[[Halo: Initiation]]''', ''Issue #2''</ref>
| | Methane's relative abundance and clean burning process makes it a very attractive fuel. However, because it is a gas (at normal temperature and pressure; see STP), methane is difficult to transport from its source. In its natural gas form, it is generally transported in bulk by pipe or LNG carriers. |
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| Methane is highly flammable, and as such the Covenant's methane containers - including the Unggoy's methane tanks - explode when shot. During the [[Second Ark Conflict]], the Unggoy [[Yapyap]] would utilise Methane as a weapon, deploying it from [[Methane Wagon]]s to choke enemy troops and enhance his own Unggoy forces.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]'''</ref> | | Methane is a relatively potent greenhouse gas with a high global warming potential of 72 (averaged over 20 years) or 25 (averaged over 100 years). Methane in the atmosphere is eventually oxidized, producing carbon dioxide and water. As a result, methane in the atmosphere has a half life of seven years (every seven years, the amount of methane halves). |
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| During the [[Battle for Zeta Halo]], the [[Banished]] troops stationed at the [[Redoubt of Sundering (location)|Redoubt of Sundering]] used methane gas to execute human [[Prisoner of war|POWs]] they deemed to be too weak or of no value.{{Ref/Novel|Id=RP160|RP|Page=160}}
| | The abundance of methane in the Earth's atmosphere in 1998 was 1745 parts per billion, up from 700 ppb in 1750. In the same time period, CO2 increased from 278 to 365 parts per million. The radiative forcing effect due to this increase in methane abundance is about one-third of that of the CO2 increase. In addition, there is a large, but unknown, amount of methane in methane clathrates in the ocean floors. Global warming could release this methane, which could cause a further sharp rise in global temperatures. Such releases of methane may have been a major factor in previous major extinction events. The Earth's crust also contains huge amounts of methane. Large amounts of methane are produced anaerobically by methanogenesis. Other sources include mud volcanoes which are connected with deep geological faults. |
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| ==Gallery==
| | The only known species that uses methane instead of [[oxygen]] in respiration are the [[Unggoy]]. |
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| File:HR-MethanePump-Render.jpg|''Halo: Reach'' render of a Methane pump.
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| </gallery>
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| ==Sources==
| | [[Category:Chemical Compounds]] |
| {{Ref/Sources}}
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| [[Category:Chemical compounds]] | |
