Oil By G C Thornley.docx

Oil By G C Thornley.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