Why the gas cylinder is cylindrical in shape?

We have seen a gas cylinder ! Have you ever wondered why its hape is always cylindrical only? A gas cylinder is more of a vessel used to store gases at high pressure. It then can be used to transport or use the pressure energy stored for different purposes.
Now your question! Why is it cylinderical? Yes, there is a proper mechanical reason for that! The forces. Yes, everybody knows this equation! Even if they're not from the science background.

P= F/A

The lesser the area, for the same amount of pressure, the lesser is the force experienced by the walls.Now I have done a basic comparison between a cylinder and a Cuboid of the same volume.
From the calculations, assuming to be of the same height and volume, a cylinder will have a lesser surface area. Hence, it will experience lesser amount of forces and is mechanically more stable. Due to the lesser value of forces, lesser stresses  are developed in the cylinder and it is much stronger.

 

The shape of the cylinder also plays an important role . The pressure is distributed evenly and there is no concentration of force. Hence, there is no weak or break down point in the body. Where as in a Cuboid or a cube one of the walls or corners may experience larger amount forces than the other parts, which may induce large amount of stresses and breakdown of the container.The only shape better in terms of stress distribution and force distribution is a sphere.
Unfortunately It is difficult to transport, hard to manufacture perfectly, difficult to store, difficult to pack as it is not compact and it is difficult to process as a gas container ( filling, refilling and using the gas within ).