Methane hydrates are frozen water molecules that trap methane gas molecules in a crystalline, lattice-like structure known as a hydrate.

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Coal beds often double as aquifers, and to remove the gas thousands of gallons of water (which trap it in the coal) must be got out first.

ECONOMIST: Energy supplies

Since they were first made in 1995, Bose-Einstein condensates have become commonplace as experimental tools. (They are particularly valued for their ability to slow the speed of light all the way down to zero.) Dr Steinhauer and his colleagues created a condensate out of a gas of rubidium atoms held in a magnetic trap.

ECONOMIST: Black holes on a desktop

Moffett has often called attention to the fact that the Mississippi River has been flowing down the center of our country for 60 million years and dumping sediment into the Gulf all the while, ultimately creating mounds and valleys that could trap debris that was eventually turned into oil and gas.

FORBES: Magazine Article