{"id":15,"date":"2022-01-24T09:39:54","date_gmt":"2022-01-24T09:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resource-dev.billyoh.com\/?page_id=15"},"modified":"2025-07-31T04:19:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T04:19:46","slug":"history-of-gas","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/billyoh.com\/resource\/history-of-gas\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the Development of Natural Gas and How it Ended Up in BBQs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gas is something that most of us take for granted. When we want to grill a steak, we simply turn on our gas barbecues<\/a> or a burners on the stove, and within minutes, we have dinner ready and cooked to perfection. Have you ever thought about the gas that makes this possible? How was gas discovered, and what would your life look like without it?<\/p>\n

Early Development of Gas<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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It is hard to imagine the world without gas, and in the UK, lives were transformed about 200 years ago when the gas industry began. The key date was 1792, and during that year, William Murdoch first lit his Redruth, Cornwall home using gas. Murdoch later went on to work with Samuel Clegg to develop commercial glass lighting. Whilst their achievements are sometimes overlooked in favor of a German inventor, they paved the way to give British people easy access to affordable energy and light sources for the first time.<\/p>\n

Once all of the powers of gas were discovered, it spread throughout the UK quite quickly. In 1816, Preston became the first town to get gas street lighting, and the next year the Royal Mint developed and installed the first gas meter. By 1826, almost every large town and city in Britain had gas works to light the streets, and public buildings. Most stores and large homes usually had gas lighting as well. It wasn\u2019t until around 1875 that most working-class people could afford to light their homes using gas.<\/p>\n

The development of the gas industry began in 1855, with German inventor Robert Bunsen spearheading the efforts. At this time, Bunsen produced an aerated burner \u2013 later termed the Bunsen burner \u2013 in order to improve the combustion of gas, leading to a flame that was more intense. Gas service became more accessible, but concerns started to arise regarding the burning of fossil fuels \u2013 the pollution that resulted started to pose environmental and health risks, especially to people who worked in industrial fields.<\/p>\n