Why is methane Scentless?

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Why is methane Scentless?

I can smell it

2006-10-31 12:58:46 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology

2 answers

Methane is usually mixed with small quantities of odorants, strongly-smelling sulfur compounds such as ethanethiol (also called ethyl mercaptan), to enable the detection of leaks, this is what you smell. Pure methane is odorless.

2006-10-31 14:03:15 · answer #1 · answered by tiff-so-fierce 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋

Many gasses are "scentless", which is to say that our olfactory receptors are not sensitive to them. Oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, argon, and water vapor, to name a few, are all "scentless".

2006-10-31 14:03:13 · answer #2 · answered by PaulCyp 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋