Popular Science gives our readers the information and tools to improve their technology and their world. The core belief that Popular Science and our readers share: The future is going to be better, and science and technology are the driving forces that will help make it better.

This is the 2003 revision of the 1985 book Burning Wood and Coal. It includes updated information on building codes, newer heating systems and components, installation and safety issues, cutting wood with a chainsaw, and much more.

“The most honest book about climate change yet.” —The Atlantic “The Infinite Jest of climate books.” —The Baffler An eye-opening look at the consequences of coal mining and oil and natural gas production—the second of a two volume work by award-winning author William T. Vollmann on the ideologies of energy production and the causes of climate change The second volume of William T. Vollmann's epic book about the factors and human actions that have led to global warming begins in the coal fields of West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, where "America's best friend" is not merely a fuel, but a "heritage." Over the course of four years Vollmann finds hollowed out towns with coal-polluted streams and acidified drinking water; makes covert visits to mountaintop removal mines; and offers documented accounts of unpaid fines for federal health and safety violations and of miners who died because their bosses cut corners to make more money. To write about natural gas, Vollmann journeys to Greeley, Colorado, where he interviews anti-fracking activists, a city planner, and a homeowner with serious health issues from fracking. Turning to oil production, he speaks with, among others, the former CEO of Conoco and a vice president of the Bank of Oklahoma in charge of energy loans, and conducts furtive roadside interviews of guest workers performing oil-related contract labor in the United Arab Emirates. As with its predecessor, No Immediate Danger, this volume seeks to understand and listen, not to lay blame--except in a few corporate and political cases where outrage is clearly due. Vollmann is a carbon burner just like the rest of us; he describes and quantifies his own power use, then looks around him, trying to explain to the future why it was that we went against scientific consensus, continually increasing the demand for electric power and insisting that we had no good alternative.

Fuels, Furnaces and Refractories focuses on the sources and efficient use of energy available to modern industry. This book begins with the classification, properties, tests, and different kinds of fuels, as well as trends in fuel utilization. This text also tackles the generation and distribution of electricity from both chemical and nuclear energy sources. Subsequent chapters focus on the thermodynamics, physics, chemistry, and kinetics of combustion of fuels; the burner design; the heat transfer and flow of gases through furnaces and flues; and ways of controlling energy supply rates and temperatures. The refractory materials, which are heat-resisting substances, are also described.

Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) Technologies discusses this innovative power generation technology that combines modern coal gasification technology with both gas turbine and steam turbine power generation, an important emerging technology which has the potential to significantly improve the efficiencies and emissions of coal power plants. The advantages of this technology over conventional pulverized coal power plants include fuel flexibility, greater efficiencies, and very low pollutant emissions. The book reviews the current status and future developments of key technologies involved in IGCC plants and how they can be integrated to maximize efficiency and reduce the cost of electricity generation in a carbon-constrained world. The first part of this book introduces the principles of IGCC systems and the fuel types for use in IGCC systems. The second part covers syngas production within IGCC systems. The third part looks at syngas cleaning, the separation of CO2 and hydrogen enrichment, with final sections describing the gas turbine combined cycle and presenting several case studies of existing IGCC plants. - Provides an in-depth, multi-contributor overview of integrated gasification combined cycle technologies - Reviews the current status and future developments of key technologies involved in IGCC plants - Provides several case studies of existing IGCC plants around the world