5 Feb /14

Fossil fuel

What a combination of German and English! The term fossil fuel was first mentioned by the German chemist Caspar Neumann. Neumann was the travelling pharmacist for the King of Prussia who sent him travelling around Europe to study and acquire new products. When in London, the King died and with him Neumann’s job. But being the curious scientist he was, Neumann continued his research and made his way into the circles of London where he met such people as Isaac Newton and Hans Sloane. Benefitted by the fact that George I, the King of England at the time, not only had a lively interest in science but also, by a quirk of history, only spoke German, Neumann made a prolific career in England.

While living in England, Neumann still wrote in German and his works first appeared in English translation in 1759 – 20 years after his death. Fossil fuel appears in the index under the heading “Iron, its ores”. One of the sub-areas is “smelted with fossil fuels”.

With the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England, coal replaced wood, wind and watermills as the primary energy source. The resulting better use of fuel eventually created higher-quality engines, improved transportation and revolutionised agriculture. By 1900, the amount of city-dwellers had jumped to 225 million, and one hundred years later, the number of urbanites was close to three billion.

The fossil fuels of petroleum, coal and natural gas now make up almost five-sixths of primary energy consumption across the globe.

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