Concept in Definition ABC

Methane is the molecule Smaller organic and is made up of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms, so its chemical formulation is CH4. Belongs to the family of alkanes, which are those elements that only have carbon and hydrogen atoms.

How Methane Is Formed

To understand methane as a molecule, it must be taken into account that carbon is the most important atom of organic molecules and its atomic number is 6, since it occupies the sixth place in the system Newspaper of the elements. The fact that carbon has an atomic number of 6 means that it has 6 protons in the nucleus and 6 electrons in the periphery. On the other hand, we must bear in mind that electrons are arranged in shells and orbitals and that electrons are essential to form molecules.

In this way, if we join four hydrogens to carbon, each hydrogen contributes a electron and together with one of carbon's valence electrons they form a two-electron bond. Thus, in total four bonds are formed, each with two electrons, so that the carbon ends up surrounded by eight electrons in its outermost shell. When the methane molecule is formed, the carbon gets additional stability.

In the morphology from methane it is observed that the molecule is totally symmetric, which means that the CH distances are identical to each other and the bonds are as far apart as possible. This would be like joining four balloons together. The structure of methane forms four identical orbitals, which are called hybrid orbitals.

The dangers of methane for the balance of the planet

In the polar areas the ice is melting after thousands of frozen years, thus forming immense lakes. These lakes have something special, as columns of bubbles rise from their I usually and these bubbles are made of methane, which produce a gas that generates a much greater greenhouse effect than that produced by carbon dioxide. The release of methane into the atmosphere accelerates the warming of the Earth.

On the other hand, in the deep sea of ​​the polar zones there is a white mass that is methane hydrate, that is, a mixture of Water and methane. This mixture lies under the continental shelves and if there is an increase in the temperature a large amount of methane is released that threatens the Balance environmental

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