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Show A Cubic Foot of Coal A cubic foot of soft coal weighs a trifle more than 80 pounds. It isn't big, but it contains an amazing amount of energy. For instance, this energy would be sufficient to cook the food for most families for about three days. It would produce enough manufactured gas to supply the average domestic user for a whole week. It would supply enough electricity to operate a range for 19 days or a refrigerator for nearly two months. Coal is one of the most important elements in the operation of modern industry. It produces steam, gas and power. It runs trains, powers factories, and helps make the steel used in our skyscrapers, automobiles, battleships battle-ships and thousands of other things. It is a storehouse of valuable chemicals. And it heats nearly 18,000,000 homes more than half of the national total. Our underground resources of coal are, to all practical practi-cal purposes, without limit. They are estimated at the inconceivable in-conceivable figure of 2,500,000,000,000 tons! For every ton of coal mined so far in our history, there are more than 80 tons still in the ground. It is truly a national resource re-source 31 states have mineable deposits. Today's coal mines are mass production factories, where machines do the work under the guidance of skilled workmen. The improvement in safety has been one of coal's greatest achievements. In the course of a year, 90 per cent of the mines have no fatalities at all, either above or below ground. In terms of man-hours worked, mining is four times as safe as it was 40 years ago. A hunk of coal isn't a beautiful object, but it can do a long list of vital jobs. |