Before The Birth Of Science, The Origin Of Fire Could Only

Before the birth of science, the origin of fire could only be speculated by humanity. The Greeks said Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. They also considered fire to be one of the five basic elements of the universe. The Chinese say Hui Lu kept one hundred fire birds in a gourd that had the power to cause forest fires5. The Native Americans explain fire by stating fire was hidden from mankind and that an animal—coyote, woodpecker, or wolf—would steal the fire from the guarded Fire Mountain5. A later theory in the seventeenth century stated that objects containing phlogiston had the ability to catch fire, thus explaining combustion and rusting in archaic times3. However later observations disproved the theory. In†¦show more content†¦From one stable compound comes multiple products caused by the rearrangement of the reactant. If one were to do the calculations for the combustion reaction, the units would be in joules and negative, indicat ing it is an exothermic reaction. Such calculations are vital to maximize output and feed consumption. Today’s demand for electricity is voracious, consuming 3913 billion kilowatt-hours in the United States alone6. According to the Wall Street Journal, coal is currently one of the most used fuel source to produce the United States’ energy along with natural gas, petroleum, renewable energy, and nuclear power1. For a long time, coal has been the best heat source since it contains more heat per gram and potential energy compared to wood’s meager output4. To use coal to produce electricity, the coal is heated and cooled with water. The water vapor is used to turn a turbine connected to a generator, and is later condensed back into liquid water and returned to a body of water or recycled4. The chemical formula of coal is C135H96O9NS from carbonized plant biomass but varies from different coal qualities, ranging from anthracite to peat1. What differs between each quality of coal is the amount of carbon, oxygen, and impurities such as mercury and sulfur. These impuritie s affect the amount of pollution that gets expelled into the atmosphere such as sulfur dioxide and poisonous mercury gas4. As a result, these pollutants cause respiratory problems and acidify waterShow MoreRelatedConflicts Between Science and Religion1662 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Introduction - In science, evolution is one of the basic templates for understanding the biology of an organism or ecological unit. Essentially, it is the change in inherited traits of a population through a process called natural selection in which only the strongest traits are appropriately adapted to the environment in question. 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