Fuel

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Fuel is any material that is burned or altered to obtain energy and to heat or to move an object. Fuel releases its energy either through a chemical reaction means, such as combustion, or nuclear means, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. An important property of a useful fuel is that its energy can be stored to be released only when needed, and that the release is controlled in such a way that the energy can be harnessed to produce work. Examples: Methane, Petrol and Oil.

All carbon-based life forms—from microorganisms to animals and humans—depend on and use fuels as their source of energy. Their cells engage in an enzyme-mediated chemical process called metabolism that converts energy from food or light into a form that can be used to sustain life. Additionally, humans employ a variety of techniques to convert one form of energy into another, producing usable energy for purposes that go far beyond the energy needs of a human body. The application of energy released from fuels ranges from heat to cooking and from powering weapons to combustion and generation of electricity.

For more information about Fuel, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with fuel


A Search for Stability for Platinum Catalysts

A Search for Stability for Platinum Catalysts

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new carbon support that greatly increases the durability of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells has been developed by scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Princeton University. ...





Search results for fuel


Can Snowmobiles Adapt in the Age of Ethanol?

Can Snowmobiles Adapt in the Age of Ethanol?

Technology / Energy

created 1hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- By 2022, federal regulations will require a 400 percent increase in the amount of renewable fuel in America’s gasoline, from 9 billion to 36 billion gallons.


NASA, Google offer more precise emissions tracking (AP)

NASA, Google offer more precise emissions tracking

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(AP) -- The question is a potential deal-killer: If nations ever agree to slash greenhouse gas emissions, how will the world know if they live up to their pledges?


Research in aircraft control systems and robotics helps improve flight safety

Research in aircraft control systems and robotics helps improve flight safety

Technology / Engineering

created 1hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- At first blush, it may not seem like robots and aircraft control systems have anything in common. When you put them together, however, you arrive at the core of Guangjun Liu’s unique research ...


Wild chimps have near human understanding of fire, says study

Wild chimps have near human understanding of fire, study says

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (8) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The use and control of fire are behavioral characteristics that distinguish humans from other animals. Now, a new study by Iowa State University anthropologist Jill Pruetz reports that savanna ...


STEM gets greener: Promoting critical thinking using renewable energy technology

Technology / Energy

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Can building model cars really help create the next generation of electric vehicle designers and engineers? Researchers at North Carolina State University think so. Through a recent grant, they will develop a curriculum that ...


Acid oceans: the 'evil twin' of climate change (AP)

Acid oceans: the 'evil twin' of climate change

Space & Earth / Environment

created 8 hours ago | popularity 4.1 / 5 (8) | comments 6

(AP) -- Far from Copenhagen's turbulent climate talks, the sea lions, harbor seals and sea otters reposing along the shoreline and kelp forests of this protected marine area stand to gain from any global ...


Beaming in on Warm Dense Matter (w/ Video)

Physics / General Physics

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment II (NDCX-II) now under construction at Berkeley Lab will deliver a high-current pulse of lithium ions to a foil target almost simultaneously, momentarily heating ...


How to spur energy storage innovations

How to spur energy storage innovations

Other Sciences / Other

created 21 hours ago | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Imagine flying all the way from coast to coast, completely guilt-free, in an airplane that doesn’t emit a single particle of greenhouse gas or air pollutants. That could happen someday, perhaps brought to ...



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