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WHAT IS TOMORROW'S OIL?

   


       Long back, people burned wood to get energy.  Then they found coal.  Next we switched to oil.  Our transport system is mainly using oil as fuel even today.  One fifth of the world's oil reserve is there in the middle east countries.   Oil price rise disturbed world Economy thrice.

     How long we will use oil?   Is there alternative?  Let us try to answer.

     Many countries are moving towards nuclear energy.  'Radiation' risk is present in nuclear reactors.
     Wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy are safe, clean and renewable.  We are focusing on them now.  Today, many trains have electric engines.  We rarely see steam engines.   Hybrid cars (petrol + electric) are beginning to appear.  We require many charging stations on the road to fuel electric cars.  First, we have to overcome this problem.

    Electricity serves us everywhere as a clean energy.  But the main matter is the source of electricity.  It may be steam, water flow, Nuclear energy, solar power, chemical battery etc...  We are still searching for efficient sources.  In the transmission of electricity, there is loss due to liberation of heat.  If we have zero resistance wire (super conductor), we will get zero transmission loss.  But it is still a dream.

     In energy sources like wood and petrol, the energy is stored in them.  We can get the energy from them using a spark of fire at any moment.  But transmitting their energy directly (without conversion) from one place to another is impossible.

     In the case of electricity, transmission is very easy.  But the storage is difficult.  Today, using capacitor, super capacitor, battery, we are slowly increasing the storage capacity.

     But still, oil is highly efficient fuel.  Petrol bunks (gas stations) are being opened everywhere, even though the reserve is finite.
     Oil  (jet fuel) is still good fuel in aviation industry.  It is highly power packed; cannot be replaced for now.

     But we cannot underestimate the man's ingenuity.  He will innovate and replace oil in the future.  Necessity is the mother of invention.
     In my humble opinion, tomorrow's energy economy will be mixed one.  It will have renewable energy sources like, wind and solar energy; Non -renewable sources like fossil fuel (coal, oil) ; Nuclear energy and yet to find new sources of energy.

    Discover, innovate, invent and live well.

Note:  Some say, 'Digital data is the 'oil' of tomorrow'.  Some others say, "water may get the status of oil in the future"
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