WHEN WAS COAL FIRST USED FOR ENERGY ?

 There is historical evidence that coal was first used 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, in the Bronze Age. At that time, the people of southeastern Wales used coal for funeral pyres to burn their dead.

 King Solomon was probably familiar with coal deposits of Syria because coal is mentioned in the Bible. The Greeks also used coal several hundred years before the birth of Christ. But then hundreds of years passed before coal had any great and lasting influence on the course of civilization.

 During the Middle Ages in England, coal was commonly thought to be a curse. People thought it filled the air with dangerous poisons. In 1306, King Edward I of England issued a proclamation that declared the use of coal punishable by death.

 The word "coal" in the English language comes from the Anglo Saxon "col," which originally referred to charcoal. The spelling "cole" was used until about 300 years ago, when the present spelling of the word, "coal," was adopted.

 In the early days, the methods of burning coal were so inefficient that smoke and bad odor filled the air. But the English eventually solved these problems. The industrial revolution, which dates from the 1700s, was largely dependent on coal as the chief source of power to drive steam engines.

 Coal was used by white settlers in North America in the late 1600s. Some of the Indian tribes knew about coal long before this. The Pueblo Indians of the Southwest, as an example, used coal in their pottery making at an early age in America.

 With the growing industrialization after 1850, coal was increasingly used in the United States. The growth of railroads gave the coal industry one of its largest customers and also stimulated the iron and steel industry, another large user of coal.

 In the late 1890s, the development of steam driven electric generators sparked the growth of the electric power industry, the modern coal industry's largest customer.

 Coal supplies the fuel used to generate over half the electric power in the U.S. today. Coal is burned under boilers containing water and steam from the boiling water spins turbines that turn generators to produce electricity.

 One ounce of coal can make as much electricity as 100 tons of water falling one foot.

 The electric utility industry uses about 300 million tons of bituminous coal a year. The aluminum industry, which consumes large quantities of electricity, is building plants in coal regions. This puts the plants close to low cost sources of electric energy.

 Steel is not usually made in large amounts without coke, which is bituminous coal with the tar and gases baked out.

 Coal is also used to produce chemicals from which thousands of useful items are made. Included are synthetic fibers, drugs, plastics, detergents, fertilizers, explosives, roofing materials, food preservatives, synthetic vitamins and a wide variety of pharmaceuticals.

 Coal has been used for heating since the cave man. Archeologists have also found evidence that the Romans in England used it in the second and third centuries (100- 200 AD). In the 1700s, the English found that coal could produce a fuel that burned cleaner and hotter than wood charcoal.

 Coal was one of man's earliest sources of heat and light. The Chinese were known to have used it more than 3,000 years ago. The first recorded discovery of coal in this country was by French explorers on the Illinois River in 1679, and the earliest recorded commercial mining occurred near Richmond, Virginia, in 1748.

 

 

 Was coal the first fossil fuel?

 The strange rock that burned like a log must have been very exciting back then. This rock was coal. Archeologists think this was the first time a human used a fossil fuel.

 

 

 What was the first source of energy?

 The very first energy source was the sun, providing heat and light. Later a lightning strike sparked a fire. Fire was then used for many uses from cooking to an additional source of heat and light. More than 8,000 years ago, humans discovered that sails could be used to harness wind energy for transportation.

 

 

 How many years of coal is left?

  The world has proven reserves equivalent to 133.1 times its annual consumption. This means it has about 133 years of coal left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).

 

 

 

 What country used coal first?

 

 The earliest references of coal mining come from China with a coal mine being opened over 3,000 years ago. By 200BC the Chinese were using coal for heat and as a trading commodity. It was also vital to China's metallurgy industry that first began to flourish around 120BC.

 

 

 Did cavemen use coal?

 The cave men used coal for heating, and later for cooking. Burning coal was easier because coal burned longer than wood and, therefore, did not have to be collected as often. People began using coal in the 1800s to heat their homes. Trains and ships used coal for fuel.

 

 

 

 What did we use before coal?

 Before the industrial revolution, our energy needs were modest. For heat, we relied on the sun—and burned wood, straw, and dried dung when the sun failed us. For transportation, the muscle of horses and the power of the wind in our sails took us to every corner of the world.

 

 

 What is the ultimate source of energy on Earth?

   

   The energy of the sun is the original source of most of the energy found on earth. We get solar heat energy from the sun, and sunlight can also be used to produce electricity from solar (photovoltaic) cells. The sun heats the earth's surface and the Earth heats the air above it, causing wind.

 

 

 

 What happens if we run out of coal?

 Electricity is created by Fossil Fuels in the Power generators. If fossil fuels run out one day, electricity failure will happen. This will produce an undesirable occurrence in hospitals in low-to-middle income countries. When fossil fuels are not available, surgeries will be affected halfway.

 

 

 

 What is difference between charcoal and coal?

 Coal is a natural mineral that forms over the span of millions of years while charcoal is a manufactured product created from wood. While coal in its natural state is never used alone in a barbeque or smoker, it is commonly added to charcoal briquettes to increase the energy density.