OilByGCThornley.docx

OilByGCThornley.docx

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OilByGCThornley

Oil

ByG.C.Thornley

Therearethreemaingroupsofoils:

animal,vegetable,andmineral.Greatquantitiesofanimaloilcomefromwhales,thoseenormouscreaturesoftheseawhicharethelargestremaininganimalsintheworld.ToprotectthewhalefromthecoldoftheArcticseas,naturehasprovideditwithathickcoveringoffatcalledblubber.Whenthewhaleiskilled,theblubberisstrippedoffandboileddown,eitheronboardshiporonshore.Itproducesagreatquantityofoilwhichcanbemadeintofoodforhumanconsumption.Afewothercreaturesyieldoil,butnonesomuchasthewhale.  Theliversofthecodandthehalibut,twokindsoffish,yieldnourishingoil.  Bothcodliveroilandhalibutliveroilaregiventosickchildrenandotherinvalidswhoneedcertainvitamins.Theseoilsmaybeboughtatanychemist’s.

Vegetableoilhasbeenknownfromantiquity.Nohouseholdcangetonwithoutit,foritisusedincooking.Perfumesmaybemadefromtheoilsofcertainflowers.Soapsaremadefromvegetableandanimaloils.

Totheordinaryman,onekindofoilmaybeasimportantasanother.Butwhenthepoliticianortheengineerreferstooil,healmostalwaysmeansmineraloil,theoilthatdrivestanks,aeroplanesandwarship,motor-carsanddiesellocomotives;thethatisusedtolubricateallkindsofmachinery.Thisistheoilthathaschangedthelifeofthecommonman.Whenitisrefinedintopetrol,itisusedtodrivetheinternalcombustionengine.Toitweowetheexistenceofthemotor-car,whichhasreplacedtheprivatecarriagedrawnbythehorse.Toitweowethepossibilityofflying.Ithaschangedthemethodsofwarfareonlandandsea.Thiskindofoilcomesoutoftheearth.Becauseitburnswell,itisusedasfuelandinsomewaysitissuperiortocoalinthisrespect.Manybigshipnowburnoilinsteadofcoal.Becauseitburnsbrightly,itisusedforilluminationcountlesshomesarestillilluminatedwithoil-burninglamps.Becauseitisveryslippery,itisusedforlubrication.Twometalsurfacesrubbingtogethercausefrictionandheat;butiftheyareseparatedbyathinfilmofoil,thefrictionandheatarereduced.Nomachinewouldworkforlongifitwerenotproperlylubricated.Theoilusedforthispurposemustbeofthecorrectthickness;ifitistoothinitwillnotgivesufficientlubrication,andifitistoothickitwillnotreachallpartsthatmustbelubricated.

Theexistenceofoilwellshasbeenknownforalongtime.SomeoftheIndiansofNorthAmericausedtocollectandselltheoilfromthewellsofPennsylvania.Noone,however,seemstohaverealizedtheimportanceofthisoiluntilitwasfoundthatparaffin-oilcouldbemadefromit;thisledtothedevelopmentofthewellsandtothemakingofenormousprofits.Whentheinternalcombustionenginewasinvented,oilbecameofworld-wideimportance.

Whatwastheoriginoftheoilwhichnowdrivesourmotor-carsandaircraft?

Scientistsareconfidentabouttheformationofcoal,buttheydonotseemsosurewhenaskedaboutoil.Theythinkthattheoilunderthesurfaceoftheearthoriginatedinthedistantpast,andwasformedfromlivingthingsinthesea.Countlessbillionofminuteseacreaturesandplantslivedandsanktotheseabed.Theywerecoveredwithhugedepositofmud,andbyprocessofchemistry,pressureandtemperaturewerechangedthroughlongagesintowhatweknowasoil.Forthesecreaturestobecomeoil,itwasnecessarythattheyshouldbeimprisonedbetweenlayersofrockforanenormouslengthoftime.Thestatementthatoiloriginatedintheseaisconfirmedbyaglanceatamapshowingthechiefoilfieldsoftheworld;veryfewofthemarefardistantfromtheoceansoftoday.Insomeplacesgasandoilcomeuptothesurfaceoftheseafromitsbed.Therocksinwhichoilisfoundareofmarineorigintoo.Theyaresedimentaryrocks,rockswhichwerelaiddownbytheactionofwateronthebedoftheocean.Almostalwaystheremainsofshells,andotherproofsofsealife,arefoundclosetotheoil.Averycommonsedimentaryrockiscalledshale,whichisasoftrockandwasobviouslyformedbybeingdepositedontheseabed.Andwherethereisshalethereislikelytobeoil.

Geologists,scientistswhostudyrocks,indicatethelikelyplacestotheoildrillers.Insomecasesoilcomesoutofthegroundwithoutdrillingatallandhasbeenusedforhundredsofyears.IntheislandofTrinidadtheoilisintheformofasphalt,asubstanceusedformakingroads.SirWalterRaleighvisitedthefamouspitchlakeofTrinidadin1595;itissaidtocontainninethousandmilliontonsofasphalt.Thereareprobablyhugequantitiesofcrudeoilbeneaththesurface.

Thekingoftheoilfieldisthedriller.Heisaveryskilledman.Sometimeshesendshisdrillmorethanamileintotheearth.Duringtheprocessofdrilling,gasandoilatgreatpressuremaysuddenlybemet,andifthisrushesoutandcatchesfiretheoilwellmayneverbebroughtintooperationatall.Thisdangeriswellknownandstepsarealwaystakentopreventit.

Thereisalotofluckindrillingforoil.Thedrillmayjustmisstheoilalthoughitisnear;ontheotherhand,itmaystrikeoilatafairlyhighlevel.Whenthedrillgoesdown,itbringsupsoil.Thesamplesofsoilfromvariousdepthsareexaminedfortracesofoil.Iftheyaredisappointedatoneplace,thedrillersgotoanother.Greatsumsofmoneyhavebeenspent,forexampleinthedesertsofEgypt,in‘prospecting’foroil.Sometimeslittleisfound.Whenwebuyafewgallonsofpetrolforourcars,wepaynotonlythecostofthepetrol,butalsopartofthecostofthesearchthatisalwaysgoingon.

Whenthecrudeoilisobtainedfromthefield,  itistakentotherefineriestobetreated.thecommonestformoftreatmentisheating.Whentheoilisheated,thefirstvapourstorisearecooledandbecomethefinestpertrol.Petrolhasalowboilingpoint;ifalittleispouredintothehand,itsoonvaporizes.Gasthatcomesofftheoillateriscondensedintoparaffin.Lastofallthelubricatingoilsofvariousgradesareproduced. Whatremainsisheavyoilthatisusedasfuel.

Therearefourmainareasoftheworldwheredepositsofoilappear.ThefirstisthatoftheMiddleEast,andincludestheregionsneartheCaspianSea,theRedSeaandthePersianGulf.AnotheristheareasbetweenNorthandSouthAmerica,andthethird,betweenAsiaandAustralia,includestheislandsofSumatra,BorneoandJava. 

ThefourthareaisthepartneartheNorthPole.Whenallthepresentoilfieldsareexhausted,itispossiblethatthiscoldregionmaybecomethesceneofoilactivity.Yetthedifficultieswillbegreat,andthecostsmaybesohighthatnocompanywillundertakethework.Ifprogressinusingatomicpowertodrivemachinesisfastenough,itispossiblethatoil-drivenenginesmaygiveplacetothenewkindofengine.Inthatcasethedemandforoilengine.Inthecasethedemandforoilwillfall,theoilfieldswillgraduallydisappear,andthedepositsattheNorthPolemayrestwheretheyareforever.

Oil油 

There are three main groups of oils:

 油主要分为三类：

animal,vegetable and mineral. 动物油、植物油和矿物油。

Great quantities of animal oil come from whales, 大量的动物油来自于鲸鱼，those enormous creatures of the sea which are the largest remaining animals in the world. 这些巨大的海洋生物是世界上现存的最大的动物。

To protect the whale from the cold of the Arctic seas, 为保护鲸鱼免受北冰洋之寒冷，mature has provided it with a thick covering of fat called blubber. 大自然为鲸鱼提供了一层厚厚的脂肪，称为鲸脂。

When the whale is killed,the blubber is strippde off and boiled down,either on board ship or on shore.It produces a great quantity of oil which can be made into food for human consumption. 把鲸脂剥下来，在船上或在岸上将其熬浓，就产出大量的油，这种油可用来制成供人们食用的食品。

A few other creatures yield oil, 还有其它几种动物也产油，but none so much as the whale.但是都有没有象鲸鱼产的这样多。

The livers of the given to sick children and other invalids who need certain vitamins. 鲸鱼和比目鱼这两类鱼的肝能生产富于营养的油。

对需要相应的维生素的病弱儿童或其它病人都可以吃鳕鱼肝油和比目鱼肝油。

These oils may be bought at any chemist’s.这些油在任何药店里都能买到。

Vegetable oil has been known from antiquity. 植物油早在古代就为人所知。

No household can get on without it,for it is used in cooking. 植物油用来烹调，所以任何家庭离不开它。

Perfumes may be made from the oils of certain flowers. 有几种花的油可以用来制造香水。

Soaps are made from vegetable and animal oils.肥皂是由动物油和植物油制成的。

To the ordinary man , 对于普通人来说，one kind of oil may be as important as another. 这种油和那种油可能是同样重要的。

But when the politician or the engineer refers to oil, 但是当政治家或工程师们一提到油，he almost always neans mineral oil , 几乎总是指矿物油。

the oil that drives tanks, aeroplanes and warships,motor-cars and diesel locomotives; 这种油被用来开坦克、飞机、军舰、汽车和柴油机车；the oil that is used to lubricate all kinds of machinery. 还可用来润滑各种机器。

This is the oil that has changed the life of the common man. 正是这种矿物油改变了一般人的生活。

When it is refined into petrol it is used to drive the internal combustion engine. 如果把它炼制成汽油，就可用于驱动内燃机。

To it we owe the existence of the motor-car,which has replaced the private carriage drawn by the horse. 幸亏有了汽油，取代私人马车的汽车才得以存在；To it we owe the possibility of  flying. 幸亏有了汽油，我们才能可能乘飞机。

It has changed the methods of warfare on land and sea. 它还改变了陆战和海战的方式。

This kind of oil comes out of the earth. 这种油源出于地下。

Because it burns well, 由于石油易于燃烧，it is used as fuel and in some waysit is superior to coal in this respect. 它被用来作为燃料，而且在某些方面，它比煤炭要优越。

Many big ships now burn oil instead of coal. 目前很多大型船只烧油而不烧煤。

Because it burns brightly, 由于石油燃烧起来发亮，it is used for illumination; 所以它可用于照明；countless homes are still illuminated with oil-burning lamps. 无数的家庭目前依然用燃油灯来照明；Because it is very slippery, 由于石油很滑溜，it is used for lubrication. 所以它又可用于润滑。

Two metal surfaces rubbing together cause friction and heat; 两种金属的表面相摩擦就会产生摩擦力和热；but if they are separated by a thin film of oil, 但是如果在两种金属表面上涂上一层薄薄的油，the friction and heat are reduced. 阻力和热量就