My Science School

 

Each day, we use fossil fuels to drive our cars and to make electricity for computers and lights. These fuels release chemicals into the air that can harm our world. This is called pollution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Burning huge amounts of gas creates pollution.

In some parts of the world, oil is drilled to be used as fuel. Any natural gas released from the same area is left to burn in blazing fires, because it is too costly to store and transport. This is called flaring. These raging fires release many chemicals that harm the local area. It would be better if this gas could be stored and then used for fuel.

 

 

 

 

Pollution is making the Earth hotter.

Fossil fuels release a gas called carbon dioxide when they burn. This gas acts like a blanket, trapping the Sun’s heat around the Earth. This extra heat can cause extreme weather conditions, from terrible storms to hotter weather.

 

 

 

 

Natural gas is one of the cleanest fossil fuels.

When gas is burned it does not produce as many harmful chemicals as other fossil fuels. A gas-powered car or bus creates less pollution than a petrol-powered vehicle. Many people are now using this cleaner fuel.

 

 

We use natural gas to heat our homes and to make electricity in a power station. But there are also other hidden ways that we use this fuel. Helium balloons are filled with a type of natural gas, for example.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We use the chemicals in gas to make things.

Before natural gas reaches our homes, some of its chemicals and gases are taken out. These are made into other chemicals that can be used to make washing powders, plastics and even medicines. Natural gas is used in many areas of our lives!

 

 

 

 

Continue reading "Unusual uses of natural gas"

 

Natural gas gives off lots of energy when it burns. Energy makes things work. We use energy to heat our homes with gas central heating. We also use gas to heat water for washing and for warm baths and showers.

 

 

 

 

 

At home your gas comes from a pipe in the street or from a tank.

In towns and cities, most houses are supplied with gas from ‘the mains’ – a network of gas pipes under the road. In smaller areas, the network of pipes may not be available. Instead, these houses may have a tank of liquid gas in the garden. This is refilled from a lorry when the gas is running low.

 

 

 

The energy from gas can be used to cook.

When natural gas burns, the energy can be used to heat soup on a gas ring or roast a chicken in a gas oven. A gas metre measures how much gas you use in your home. You then pay for gas that you use.

 

 

 

The heat energy from natural gas can be turned into electricity.

You use electricity from the moment you wake up and turn on the light to when you go to bed and listen to a CD. Fossil fuels are often used to make electricity. In a power station, natural has heats water to make steam which turns a turbine. This turns coils of copper wire that pass through magnets, creating electricity.

Gas can be taken from the ground and sent through a network of pipes to homes around the world. Gas can also be carried in metal containers for camping equipment or portable heaters.

 

 

 

Some gas pipes are as wide as a person.

A country with large natural gas deposits, such as Russia, sends the fuel under the sea and overland to other countries. In Norway, the 1,200 kilometre Langeledd pipeline transports gas to the UK along the seabed. Gas usually travels at about 24 kilometres an hour along these large pipelines!

 

 

 

 

Liquid gas can be moved in a lorry.

Chilling gas turns it into a liquid. This takes up less room than its gassy original form. It is easier and cheaper to transport liquid natural gas to areas that cannot be reached by gas pipes.

 

 

 

 

 

Small containers of liquid gas can be used anywhere.

Other types of gas can be turned into a liquid. Propane, a gas taken from oil or natural gas, is stored as a liquid in small containers. Liquid propane can be used to heat up camping stoves or even to power this huge hot-air balloon.

 

 

 

Have you ever dug a hole in some sand or in the earth? How far could you dig? To reach large areas of natural gas, people drill deep under the earth. The drill makes a hole (or a well) in the solid rock that surrounds the natural gas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This platform is drilling for gas in the middle of the sea.

There is a lot of gas deep beneath the seabed. A gas rig is built and then transported to the middle of the ocean. This is called an offshore rig. From here, drillers are able to reach the depths of the sea. They live for months at a time on the rig. Some rigs are the size of villages!

 

 

 

 

Natural gas is cleaned before it reaches our homes.

When a drill hits an area of natural gas, the gas collects in a well and is sent along a pipe to a processing plant. Here, any unwanted gases or chemicals are removed. These can be used later for other products or fuels.

 

 

 

Drilling for natural gas can harm the natural world.

Huge drilling rigs and massive pipes spoil the beauty of the natural world. Pipelines can destroy the habitats of plants and animals, and the chemicals and fuels can upset the natural balance of the area.

 

 

Natural gas forms deep under the ground or under the seabed. It is usually found near oil. Large areas of natural gas are found all over the world, from Nigeria to Russia.

 

 

 

 

 

Scientists search for gas in rocks and soil.

Small amounts of natural gas rise up from the ground and escape through tiny holes in rocks and soil. The gas disappears safely into the air. But, when the gas meets rocks without any holes, it becomes trapped. Geologists use a geophone to scan and record movements underground.

 

 

Continue reading "Where do we find natural gas?"

Natural gas is invisible. It has no colour, shape or smell. But when gas burns, a flame gives off heat and light. Natural gas is a fossil fuel made from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.

Natural gas is an important source of light and heat energy.

Natural gas is made up of different chemicals and gases. The main ingredient is methane, a gas that burns easily. When we burn natural gas, it gives off a lot of energy. This energy is used for cooking and heating. We can even use it to power cars.

 

 

There are many gases in the air.

Most of the air that surrounds us is made up of the gases oxygen and nitrogen. We need the gases in the air to breathe. Natural gas is a mixture of different gases and chemicals that form underground.

 

 

 

 

Natural gas formed millions of years ago from the rotten bodies of dead animals and plants.

Over millions of years, dead plants and animals sank deep into the earth or the seabed. They were pushed down by soil and water. Some remains were squeezed at high temperatures to form rocks. Lower down, oil and natural gas formed.

 

 

 

The centre of the Earth is partly made of iron! Around the world, there is plenty of iron found in rocks. Some of the rocks look rusty and red. When the iron is taken out, it is dark grey. Iron is a useful and important metal.

 

 

 

 

Iron is strong and easy to shape.

In its ore, iron is mixed with many other materials. To extract the iron, the rocks are heated in extremely hot ovens, called blast furnaces. When other materials, such as coke and limestone, are added, runny iron is taken out. The purest iron is then used to make steel.

 

 

Continue reading "Important iron"

 

 

Many metals, such as iron and steel, are strong and heavy. They are used to make machines or buildings. There is also a need for metals that are strong and light. A car needs to be strong, but it uses up less petrol if it is also light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aircraft need to be strong and light.

A light aircraft is cheaper to fly than a heavy one because it uses less fuel. It is also faster. But aircraft must be strong too. Titanium is as strong as steel but nearly half as light! This aeroplane is made mainly out of the metals titanium and aluminium.

 

 

 

 

 

This metal was worth more than gold!

Aluminium used to be more valuable than gold! It was precious because it was hard to find and costly to make. Today, it is much cheaper and is used to make cans and kitchen foil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is metal in your body.

Inside your body, there are tiny natural traces of metal such as iron and zinc. These are not chunks of solid iron. Instead, these metals flow around your body in your blood. Metals in the body are called minerals. We get them from eating different foods.

 

 

You can see and touch metals used in things like drink cans and bikes. Metals also make it possible for you to switch on a light. Your computer uses metals to work and there is even metal in the paint on your walls.

 

 

 

 

Electricity flows easily through some metals.

Electricity only flows easily through some materials. It cannot flow through wood or plastic. But it can flow through some metals, such as copper. These metals are called conductors. Many electrical wires are made from copper. Without metals, we could not use electricity as we do today.

 

 

 

 

 

What would happen if you had a wooden saucepan?

Many materials catch fire easily. A wooden saucepan would burn if it was heated. A metal saucepan gets hot but does not melt. Metal is a good conductor of heat. It lets heat through, but doesn’t burn unless it is extremely hot.

 

 

 

 

 

Mercury is a runny metal.

Mercury is the only metal that stays as a liquid at room temperature. This silver-coloured metal used to be called quicksilver because of the way it runs and flows. Mercury changes shape when it heats up or cools down. Because of this it can be used in thermometers to measure temperature.

 

Gold, silver and platinum are special metals. They are used to make necklaces and bracelets. These metals cost a lot of money because they are hard to find. Precious metals are very important because they have other uses – they are even used in space.

 

 

 

 

 

Gold was once used as money.

Rare metals are often called precious metals. They are worth a lot of money. Gold is only found in a few rocks, although in some parts of the world, you may be lucky and find a nugget of gold in some river mud! Gold and silver sparkle and shine. Platinum is a beautiful silver-white colour. It is very tough.

 

 

Continue reading "Metals - Shiny and gold!"

Much of the metal we use has been used before. You can use metals again and again, by melting them down and making new things from them. This is called recycling. Recycling is very important.

 

Recycling saves energy.

Taking metal from rocks in the ground is expensive and uses up lots of energy. It creates pollution when the rocks are shipped across the world in trucks and boats. Each year, we use so many aluminium cans that if you stacked them, they could reach to the Moon and back! You can make twenty recycled cans with the same energy needed to make just one new can.

 

 

 

A magnet sorts out different metals.

Machines chew up the old bits of metal in washing machines, cars and cans. The machine squeezes out small clean pieces of metal. A huge magnet separates iron and steel. Each type of metal is melted down and used again.

 

 

 

 

 

You can sort out different metals.

Some metals are magnetic. This means they will be pulled towards a magnet. Iron and steel are magnetic. Copper and brass are not. With a small magnet, try to pick up a selection of metal objects. Which ones are magnetic?

We use metals every day. Our lives would be very different without metals. Scientists are always finding amazing new ways to use metals. They look for new places to dig for metals and for new metal materials to make.

 

 

There are metals at the bottom of the sea!

It is expensive to dig deep below the sea but it may cause less pollution and damage to the area than mining on land. Some scientists are looking into ways of using tiny creatures called bacteria to collect the metals from the sea!

 

 

 

Metal blankets keep out flames.

Using aluminium and other metals in blankets keeps in heat and keeps out flames. These thermal blankets are used in space to keep astronauts warm, and here on Earth to protect climbers on cold, snowy mountains.

 

 

 

 

There are metals in space!

High above the sky, metals are found in shining stars, on other planets and in huge pieces of rock that float around in space. If humans ever build on another planet, may be they could use the supply of metal from outer space.

 

 

Metals are strong, but they can be made into many shapes. There are lots of ways to shape metal. Most metals can be bent and pulled when they are very hot. A few metals, such as copper, lead and gold, can be shaped even when they are cold.

 

 

 

 

 

Copper is pulled into thin wires.

Hot runny metal can be poured into a mould to set, like a jelly – but the cold metal will not wobble! Hot steel is squashed in huge rollers. Gold and silver can be hammered into sheets as thin as paper. Copper is stretched into thin tube shapes to be used for wires. Copper and gold do not have to be heated before they are shaped.

 

 

Continue reading "Metal Bend and stretch"

 

 

Some metals can be used on their own. Copper is used to make wires. Metals can also be mixed with other things, to make stronger or more useful metal. A mix of copper and zinc makes strong and shiny brass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bronze is a mix of copper and tin.

A metal that is used on its own is called a pure metal. A metal that is mixed with another material is called an alloy. Alloys can have special features to do special jobs. Mixing copper and tin makes bronze. This is stronger than pure tin and it doesn’t rust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some metals can be made very strong!

There are some alloys called super plastic alloys. These are made using a mix of aluminium and other materials. The mix is heated up to make the alloy both strong and stretchy. Super plastic alloys are useful in buildings, cars, trains and aeroplanes.

 

 

 

 

Some metals rust when they become wet.

Have you ever seen a rough, brown-red patch on a car? This is rust. Iron turns brown and rusty when it becomes wet. Some metals, such as gold, never tarnish (change colour). Special paints or coverings can stop iron cars from rusting.