Definition

Noun: 1. A specific type of fuel gas: "Air gas" is a combustible gas mixture historically produced for lighting and heating. It is composed primarily of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and nitrogen, created by passing air (rather than steam) over hot coke or coal.

Usage Notes

• Technical/Historical Term: "Air gas" is a specialized, largely historical term. It is not commonly used in everyday modern English. Its usage is primarily found in historical texts or technical discussions about early industrial gas production.
• Context: It is used to specify a type of manufactured gas, distinguishing it from other types like "water gas" (made by passing steam over coke) or "coal gas."

Examples

• Noun:
  • The 19th-century factory was initially illuminated using air gas.
  • The production of air gas involves blowing air through a bed of incandescent coke.

Advanced Usage

• "producer gas": This is a more common modern synonym for "air gas," especially in technical contexts. Both terms refer to the same basic gas mixture made from air and hot carbonaceous fuel.
  • The furnace was designed to run on producer gas.

Variants and Related Words

• Producer gas (n): A synonym for air gas.
• Water gas (n): A different type of fuel gas produced by passing steam over hot coke, richer in hydrogen and carbon monoxide but lacking the nitrogen found in air gas.
• Coal gas (n): A fuel gas derived from the distillation of coal, containing a different mixture of gases like hydrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide.

Synonyms

• Producer gas: The most direct synonym.
• Fuel gas: A broader, more general term that includes air gas as one type.

Related Phrases/Compounds

• Gasification: The general industrial process of converting carbon-based materials into gas, which includes the method for making air gas.
  • The gasification of coal was a major 19th-century industry.

Noun

1. a gas made of carbon monoxide and hydrogen and nitrogen; made by passing air over hot coke