How it Burns:
The Science of Combustion

Natural gas is a fuel that's burned to help produce electricity or is harnessed to heat water, cook food, or is used in the production of many materials that make our lives better. Natural gas has no color or real smell, but scientists add a special chemical called "mercaptan" to it so that leaks can more easily be detected. Mercaptan has a "rotten egg" smell that you won't soon forget!

When natural gas is drawn up from the Earth's depths, it can be mixed with the air of our atmosphere and can then be ignited into a flame. For the energy of the natural gas flame to be tapped efficiently, the air and gas mixture must be just right.

The flame on your stove should be burning a steady blue color, not orange, yellow or red. The blue flame means the air-to-gas mixture is perfect. Should the flame be any other color or quality, call someone to have it checked immediately.