The 12 Biggest Breakthroughs In Energy Technology

The 12 Biggest Breakthroughs In Energy Technology — page 3
2 NEW DRILL IMPROVES ACCESS TO OIL Oil is a thick black liquid found underground In approximately 1855 a chemist named Benjamin Silliman found a way to turn oil into kerosene Kerosene can be burned in lamps for light Demand for oil grew quickly and oil companies dug many wells But they needed better ways to access the oil At first people dug wells using simple tools such as shovels The diggers had to stop often to remove rocks and mud It could take months to drill a few dozen feet Some oil deposits are more than 100 feet 30 5 m deep Steam power made drilling faster The early 1900s brought even better ways to drill A rotary drill has a hollow drill bit Broken rocks and mud could be washed out of the hole This meant the drill could work steadily instead of stopping for the removal of rock chips 6 Modern oil rigs still use Modern oil rigs still use Modern oil rigs still use rrotary drills Most are rotary drills Most are y powered by diesel engines powered by diesel engines