# What happens when a gas has no place to go in space? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 10, 2004, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-gas-has-no-place-to-go-in-space/263927 "2004-09-10T17:02:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yellowcakesolid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cdc98d/32.png) [@yellowcakesolid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowcakesolid)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-gas-has-no-place-to-go-in-space/263927/1 "2004-09-10T17:02:32Z")
What happens when a gas in space can’t cling to a particle, or, if 100% of the gas can’t be turned into a crystal (Classic Dope), what happens to the leftovers? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-gas-has-no-place-to-go-in-space/263927/2 "2004-09-10T17:08:14Z")
I’m not sure what you’re asking. If you release a gas in space, it just keeps expanding until its pressure approximately equals that of the space around it. Also, what the bleeding hell does > [@yellowcakesolid](#): > > …the gas can’t be turned into a crystal. mean? ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-gas-has-no-place-to-go-in-space/263927/3 "2004-09-10T17:08:25Z")
You got a link for whatever it is that you’re talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-gas-has-no-place-to-go-in-space/263927/4 "2004-09-10T17:11:49Z")
Gas in space IS particles, and will disperse. The kinetic energy of the particles will remain essentially unchanged until they find something to interact with, so the gas as a whole maintains its temperature. And comments on Cecil’s columns belong in the forum called “Comments on Cecil’s Columns.” ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-gas-has-no-place-to-go-in-space/263927/5 "2004-09-11T01:47:32Z")
> [@yellowcakesolid](#): > > What happens when a gas in space can’t cling to a particle, or, if 100% of the gas can’t be turned into a crystal (Classic Dope), what happens to the leftovers? No place to go? It has the entire universe at it’s disposal! What gas? How much? What particle? What crystal? Where is link (Clasic Dope)? ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-gas-has-no-place-to-go-in-space/263927/6 "2004-09-11T03:22:13Z")
> [@yellowcakesolid](#): > > What happens when a gas in space can’t cling to a particle, or, if 100% of the gas can’t be turned into a crystal (Classic Dope), what happens to the leftovers? Isn’t space called space 'cause it’s empty? ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-gas-has-no-place-to-go-in-space/263927/7 "2004-09-11T03:29:02Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Isn’t space called space 'cause it’s empty? “Empty” is pretty relative. There’s more pseudo-empty space than there are large, consolidated chunks of matter, but even the “empty” areas have small amounts of matter (mostly hydrogen) floating around. In fact, the average density of interstellar space is [1 atom/cm[sup]2[/sup]](http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/DaWeiCai.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2004, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-gas-has-no-place-to-go-in-space/263927/8 "2004-09-11T03:31:29Z")
Make that 1 atom/cm[sup] **3** [/sup]. This ain’t Flatland. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-gas-has-no-place-to-go-in-space/263927/9 "2004-09-12T19:08:09Z")
> [@yellowcakesolid](#): > > What happens when a gas in space can’t cling to a particle, or, if 100% of the gas can’t be turned into a crystal (Classic Dope), what happens to the leftovers? As crystallizing is equivalent to freezing, he’s probably referring to this classic column of Cecil’s: [Would a glass of water in space freeze or boil?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_127.html) This question, therefore, probably belongs in [Comments on Cecil’s Columns](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?f=1). ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-gas-has-no-place-to-go-in-space/263927/10 "2004-09-12T19:36:48Z")
> [@robby](#): > > As crystallizing is equivalent to freezing, he’s probably referring to this classic column of Cecil’s: > [Would a glass of water in space freeze or boil?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_127.html) > > This question, therefore, probably belongs in [Comments on Cecil’s Columns](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?f=1). From your lips to the mods ears. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-gas-has-no-place-to-go-in-space/263927/11 "2004-09-19T03:46:31Z")
> [@yellowcakesolid](#): > > What happens when a gas in space can’t cling to a particle, or, if 100% of the gas can’t be turned into a crystal (Classic Dope), what happens to the leftovers? As any fool knows, the gas from leftovers produces what is known technically as a “fart.”