Coal: A Human History by Barbara Freese

Coal: Human history was written by Barbara Freese, focusing on coal history and coal usage as part of the human lifestyle. From the way the early nomads used burning fire, coal was always a Roman jewel and was a fuel for British farmers and aristocrats. Since coal demand is so high, many inventions are used to facilitate recovery from unacceptable conditions such as vacuum cleaners and construction of more efficient underground tunnels.

The discovery of carbon has lost its history. This element is known to prehistoric people in the form of charcoal. According to the World Coal Association, carbon as coal is still the world's major fuel source, supplying about 30% of the world's energy. Coal is also an important element of steel production and graphite is another form of carbon, a common industrial lubricant. Carbon - 14 is a radioactive isotope that archeologists use to measure the carbon of objects and debris. Carbon 14 exists naturally in the atmosphere. According to studies at Colorado State University, plants absorb it in their breath, during which they convert to the energy that can grow sugar produced during photosynthesis and sustain other processes. Animals take carbon-14 into their bodies through animals consuming plants or other edible plants. According to the University of Arizona, the half-life of carbon 14 is 5, 730 years, which means that half of the carbon 14 in the sample will subsequently collapse.

The history of coal mining in the US dates back to the 13th century when Hopi Indians used coal. Europe was first used in the United States in the Virginia state's 1740s. Coal was a major US energy source and continued to be an important source of energy from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. In the 1880s when coal exceeded wood, coal became the biggest energy source, and coal remained the largest source of energy until coal exceeded oil in the early 1950s. From the 1880s to the 1940s, coal supplied more than half of the US energy between 1906 and 1920, supplying more than three quarters of the US energy.