Home Forum Dictionary Articles Tutorials Books Directory Share your work


Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Dictionary » F » Fossil fuel

Fossil fuel

Definition

noun

(1) Any fuel formed from hydrocarbon deposits (e.g. coal, petroleum or oil, natural gas, etc.) or fossilized remains of organism (hence the name).

(2) A solid, liquid or gaseous fuels formed after millions of years by chemical and physical changes in plant and animal residues under high temperature and pressure.


Supplement

Fossil fuels are important as they can be burned to provide heat. However fossil fuel resources are irreplaceable and limited in supply. That is why there are alternative energy sources being considered. Besides, fossil fuels are known to contribute to greenhouse effect.


Word origin: fossil + fuel

Synonym: mineral fuel

See also: greenhouse gas


Please contribute to this project, if you have more information about this term feel free to edit this page



Results from our forum


ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AND EFFECTS

... plants emit large amounts of carbon dioxide produced from burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation. About twenty percent of carbon dioxide emitted ...

See entire post
by rheneelyn
Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:35 am
 
Forum: Ecology
Topic: Global Environmental Change
Replies: 54
Views: 762

Nuclear Power?

... generations? On the other hand, the risk of global war over dwindling fossil fuel supplies, a war that might be conducted with nuclear weapons. Imho, the most significant ...

See entire post
by NatureTalk
Tue Mar 10, 2009 11:21 pm
 
Forum: Ecology
Topic: Nuclear Power?
Replies: 33
Views: 6943

Global warming, an irreversible cycle?

Using agricultural biofuel is recycling recently captured carbon as opposed to fossil carbon in petroleum. I'll agree that it seems silly to chop down a rainforest (read carbon sink) to ...

See entire post
by AstusAleator
Sun Dec 09, 2007 3:36 am
 
Forum: Ecology
Topic: Global warming, an irreversible cycle?
Replies: 13
Views: 2591

The Fiber Disease

... This article has something about that in it. Snip***Since the fuel for such reactions is plentiful on Earth, plasma physicists have labored ... using them as large power plants to replace those based on nonrenewable fossil fuels. This power production method would produce no greenhouse gases ...

See entire post
by London
Wed Sep 06, 2006 12:03 pm
 
Forum: Human Biology
Topic: The Fiber Disease
Replies: 7403
Views: 766591

The Fiber Disease

... you think of that anonymous poster about 5 days ago talking about jet fuels and how he infected himself, etc.,? You know, the more I think about ... from air By Nancy Garcia The sky isn't exactly falling, but burning fossil fuel certainly has pumped enough greenhouse gases into the air to ...

See entire post
by London
Wed Aug 23, 2006 11:27 am
 
Forum: Human Biology
Topic: The Fiber Disease
Replies: 7403
Views: 766591
View all matching forum results

This page was last modified 00:50, 4 November 2009. This page has been accessed 1,267 times. 
What links here | Related changes | Permanent link