Abstract
THE question of the probable end of the world's coal supply, in the not far distant future, is one which has in recent years been the cause of much discussion. In connection with this subject a pamphlet published by the Urania Gesellschaft of Berlin, on “Die mechanischen Naturkräfte und deren Verwertung,” by F. Reuleaux, is of interest. In a clear and popular manner the author traces and explains the gradual utilisation by mankind of the various natural forces, from the ancient Assyrian water wheel to the installations of Niagara, and the Parsons steam turbine. It has been calculated that the supply of coal in England can only last at the most 200 years more; and though the coal-fields of the other European countries have not been used to the extent that the English ones have, still their eventual exhaustion can already be anticipated. The total consumption is now about 6oo million tons per year, or, measured as a volume, about 500 million cubic yards. Assuming a yearly increase of 5 per cent. (it is at the present moment greater than this) this would mean that during the present century 61/2 billion cubic yards of coal will be taken from the earth's coal mines. A cube of this volume would have a side over ten miles long.
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The Mechanical Forces of Nature and their Exploitation . Nature 64, 137–138 (1901). https://doi.org/10.1038/064137a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/064137a0