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Oil is currently at $100 or so per barrel. The current reason for the high price is instability in Middle Eastern countries like Libya. In addition, demand for oil is increasing at a time when new oil discoveries are declining. In the United States (and many other parts of the world), coal is abundant. What [...]
World Record #152 – The largest and heaviest terrestrial machines
by Marshall Brain | November 5, 2010
The largest and heaviest terrestrial machines in the world are the bucket wheel excavators used for coal mining. According to the following video, the machines cost about $100 million. The two people operating the machine do the work of 40,000 people using shovels: Getting up close: According to the following video, a bucket wheel excavator [...]
Coal-fired power plants produce a majority of the electricity in the United States. According to this article: Coal is primarily used to generate electricity. In fact, nine out of every ten tons of coal mined in the United States today is used to generate electricity, and about 56 percent of the electricity used in this [...]
You Asked: How do coal-fired power plant scrubbers work? — Gil, Onancock, Va. Marshall Brain Answers: If coal were pure carbon, then the only thing we would have to worry about at coal-fired power plants is the carbon dioxide formed when coal burns. Unfortunately, coal often contains other chemicals. Sulfur is one common element found [...]
Underground mining is what we traditionally think of when we think of “coal mining”. Miners dig tunnels down into the earth to find coal seams. A seam is layer of coal that can be hundreds of feet deep. Using automated equipment, miners then start digging caverns or rooms into the seam, leaving behind large pillars of coal to support the roof. This is called room and pillar mining. As the miners dig, a conveyor system carries the coal back to the surface…
You Asked:
How is coal converted to oil and gasoline? — Al, S Prairie, Wash.
Marshall Brain Answers…
Humans have a tendency to sprawl. You’ve seen it on the bus or train when your neighbor spills over into your narrow seat. With the help of an orbiting satellite, you can see it on a larger scale, with urban areas sprawling out for miles in every direction. Sprawl has entered the energy lexicon as well, and not everyone’s happy about it.
How much coal do you need to run a 100-watt light bulb 24 hours a day for a year? Find out in this episode of BrainStuff.
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