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The mystery of New York's eternal flame: Scientists unsure exactly where the gas produced to keep the flame burning is coming from

For years, scientists thought that the eternal flame in New York was kept alight by gas produced by ancient, extremely hot rocks.

However, researchers from Indiana University have discovered that the rocks underneath the Chestnut Ridge County Park aren't hot enough to produce this gas, which means another process is producing the gas that's keeping the flame burning. 

And they have not been able to identify exactly what the process is.

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The New York eternal flame is found in the Eternal Flame Falls, a small waterfall in the Shale Creek Preserve at the Chestnut Ridge Park. A small chamber under the waterfall produces natural gas, which keeps the flame alight. Researchers from Indiana University are unsure the source of this gas, after previous theories were disproved

WHAT CAUSES AN ETERNAL FLAME?

There are thousands of flames around the world that are able to burn constantly because of gas seeping through the soil, or because of man-made structures.

Some of the man-made flames are kept alight for religious reasons, others were lit in honour of famous people who had died, such as the eternal flame at the Kennedy memorial.

However, natural eternal flames, like the one in New York, are rare.

This is because natural eternal flames can only be kept alight by gas 'macro seeps'.

Gas usually comes through soil, where bacteria eats the methane converts it into carbon dioxide. 

Alternatively, gas comes out in a location where it disappears quickly, so can't keep a lit flame burning. 

In the case of the New York flame, a 'macro seep' of gas comes from a natural hollowed-out chamber.

Because the gas is contained and isn't converted, the flame is kept alight eternally.

The eternal flame sits behind a waterfall in western New York.

It is said to have been lit thousands of years ago by Native Americans.

There are hundreds of 'natural' eternal flames around the world, and each one is thought to be kept alight by natural gas produced from the rocks beneath it.

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The gas used to keep the flames burning is thought to come from ancient and extremely hot rocks called shale.

However, Arndt Schimmelmann and the researchers from Indiana University discovered that rocks beneath the flame in New York aren't hot enough to produce this reaction.

Schimmelmann told OurAmazingPlanet that the rocks were only the temperature of a 'cup of tea'. 

Plus, the shale isn't as old as first expected. 

Both of these factors mean that the shale beneath the New York flame couldn't be creating gas in the same way as other flames around the world.

And the researchers admitted they are unsure exactly how the New York gas is being produced.

Researchers from Indiana University took several measurements of the eternal flame in New York. By measuring the size of the flame, the researchers were able to determine how much gas it needed to burn

Although there are thousands of eternal flames around the world, many are man-made for religious purposes or in honour of famous people who have died, such as President Kennedy at the Kennedy Memorial. However, natural occurring flames are rare because the gas and flame need to live in a specific environment to make sure the gas isn't burnt away or destroyed, and the flame doesn't go out






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