A gas is one of the four main phases of matter (after solid and liquid, and followed by plasma), that subsequently appear as a solid material is subjected to increasingly higher temperatures. Thus, as energy in the form of heat is added, a solid (e.g. ice) will first melt to become a liquid (e.g. water), which will then boil or evaporate to become a gas (e.g. water vapor). In some circumstances, a solid (e.g. "dry ice") can directly turn into a gas: this is called sublimation. If the gas is further heated, its atoms or molecules can become (wholly or partially) ionized, turning the gas into a plasma.

Physics

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In the gas phase, the atoms or molecules constituting the matter basically move independently, with no forces keeping them together or pushing them apart. Their only interactions are rare and random collisions. The particles move in random directions, at high speeds, whose range is dependent on the temperature and defined by the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. Therefore, the gas phase is a completely disordered state. Following the second law of thermodynamics, gas particles will immediately diffuse to homogeneously fill any shape or volume of space that is made available to them.

The thermodynamic state of a gas is characterized by its volume, its temperature, which is determined by the average velocity or kinetic energy of the molecules, and its pressure, which is determined by the average velocity and density or number of molecules. These variables are related by the fundamental gas laws, which state that the pressure in an ideal gas is proportional to its temperature and number of molecules, but inversely proportional to its volume.

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Wash Post Oil and Gas Prices

Iraqi Oil Ministry reaches 10 deals with foreign oil companies
Ernesto Londoño Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:08:58 -0500
BAGHDAD -- Despite concerns about violence and political instability, the Iraqi government managed to attract major oil companies to rebuild its ailing infrastructure during two auctions that concluded Saturday.
Brazil girds for massive offshore oil extraction
Juan Forero Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500
Everything about the shipyard here is colossal -- the 4,000-man workforce, the billions sunk into it in capital costs, the half-finished 10-story-high production platforms.
An energy answer in the shale below?
Steven Mufson Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500
The first time Chesapeake Energy tried to buy mineral rights from Diana Whitmore, a 74-year-old retired real estate broker in southern New York, it offered her $125 for every acre of land plus a 12 percent royalty on whatever natural gas it extracts.
George F. Will: Fossil fuels belie environmentalism
George F. Will Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500
What city contributed most to the making of the modern world? The Paris of the Enlightenment and then of Napoleon, pioneer of mass armies and nationalist statism? London, seat of parliamentary democracy and center of finance? Or perhaps Titusville, Pa.
Corn-based ethanol producer says it will soon compete with gasoline
Steven Mufson Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:16:57 -0500
The nation's largest producer of corn-based ethanol said it has slashed the cost of producing cellulosic ethanol from corn cobs and that it will be able to compete with gasoline in two years.
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Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:16:57 -0500

Oil, Gas and Coal

The Enbridge Oil Sands Gamble
Patrick Daniel, the CEO of Enbridge Inc, is bullish about the future of unconventional oil from Canada’s massive tar sand deposits. His company not only operates North America’s longest crude oil and liquid pipelines, but transports 12 percent of the oil that the U.S. imports daily. Canada’s bitumen, or dirty crude, lies under a forest area the size of England and is arguably the world’s last remaining giant oil field.
US/ECUADOR: New nonprofit uses Web to pressure Chevron
Retired retail executive Richard Goldman was astonished when he heard about the $27 billion pollution lawsuit against Chevron Corp. in Ecuador. SO he has created a nonprofit group, Ethos Alliance, that will use social-networking tools to spread word of the case and put pressure on Chevron.
UK: Friends of the Earth attacks carbon trading
The world's carbon trading markets growing complexity threatens another "sub-prime" style financial crisis that could again destabilise the global economy, campaigners warn. In a new report, Friends of the Earth says that to date "cap and trade" carbon markets have done little to reduce emissions but have been plagued by inefficiency and corruption.
Chevron Gets Fixed

FRANCE: French nuclear plant reveals plutonium level discrepancies
The French government has demanded answers from a nuclear research facility after nearly triple the registered amount of plutonium was discovered there during its dismantling this summer.
UK: Kingsnorth power station plans shelved by E.ON
E.ON, the German energy group, has effectively thrown in the towel on its plans to build a new coal-power station at Kingsnorth, UK, blaming the recession. Kingsnorth has been shrouded in controversy ever since inception, with protests over several years including a high-profile Climate Camp protest.

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