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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Adiabatic Cooling And Warming, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Adiabatic Cooling And Warming, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
In order to understand how deserts form one needs to understand two processes called adiabatic cooling and warming.
Coal Geology: The Origin Of Coal, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Coal Geology: The Origin Of Coal, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
Coal forms from the tissues of plants with the major contributor being the woody tissues, cellulose and lignin, from trees growing in fresh-water wetlands. Land plants first evolved during the early Devonian and by the end of the period had adapted to most terrestrial environments. Beginning in early Pennsylvanian time, vast portions of the eastern portion of Laurentia were covered with coal-forming swamps and bogs, environments that were to be repeated throughout the remainder of the Paleozoic Era and again in the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary Periods. It was during these times that the combination of climatic conditions and wetland …
Coal Genesis, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Coal Genesis, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
Most textbooks classify coal as a sedimentary rock even though it does not fit the definition of a sedimentary rock. While a sedimentary rock is a "rock formed from the products of weathering and erosion", coal forms from the remains of land plants. In fact, coal doesn't even fit the definition of a rock. A rock is defined as "mixture of minerals" and minerals are defined as "natural occurring, solid, inorganic substances ..• " Coal is composed largely (90+%) of organic substances (macerals) which, by definition, are not minerals. If coal must be classified as a rock, because it forms …