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Fossil fuels question - scientific not political
Posted on 8/28/26 at 12:49 pm
Posted on 8/28/26 at 12:49 pm
Gasoline is referred to as a fossil fuel. Meaning, oil was discovered below the earth's surface, and with refining can be turned into a combustible fuel used as a source of energy that powers automobiles. So - why are they called "fossil" fuels? They aren't a result of dinosaur bones, so what kind of "fossil" are they referring to? One reason I ask is, they have discovered oil 35,000 feet below the earth's surface. They have found fossils at 25,000 feet only. So -- what's really going on, from a scientific standpoint? I could do a google search, but I would rather ask here. This truly is a desire for scientific understanding of what crude oil is, where it comes from, and why the term "fossil" is used with it. Please educate - I like learning things.
15
Posted on 8/28/26 at 12:50 pm to Lou
Your brain is a fossil
Posted on 8/28/26 at 12:51 pm to Lou
Wiki:
was first introduced by Andreas Libavius "in his 1597 Alchemia [Alchymia]" and later by Mikhail Lomonosov "as early as 1757 and certainly by 1763".[21] The first recorded use of the term "fossil fuel" occurs in the work of the German chemist Caspar Neumann, in English translation in 1759.[22] The Oxford English Dictionary notes that, in the phrase "fossil fuel", the adjective "fossil" means "[o]btained by digging; found buried in the earth", which dates to at least 1652,[23] before the English noun "fossil" came to refer primarily to long-dead organisms in the early 18th century.[24]
was first introduced by Andreas Libavius "in his 1597 Alchemia [Alchymia]" and later by Mikhail Lomonosov "as early as 1757 and certainly by 1763".[21] The first recorded use of the term "fossil fuel" occurs in the work of the German chemist Caspar Neumann, in English translation in 1759.[22] The Oxford English Dictionary notes that, in the phrase "fossil fuel", the adjective "fossil" means "[o]btained by digging; found buried in the earth", which dates to at least 1652,[23] before the English noun "fossil" came to refer primarily to long-dead organisms in the early 18th century.[24]
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:00 pm to Lou
Decomposed organic matter that has been sitting below the Earth's surface for a long as time, similar to a fossil.
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:08 pm to Lou
Are you under the impression that only dinosaur bones are fossils? 
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:08 pm to Lou
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:09 pm to Lou
Do you know what fossil even means?
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:09 pm to junkfunky
quote:Is that what oil is, decomposed organic matter?
Decomposed organic matter
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:09 pm to Lou
Yes
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:10 pm to Lou
Organic matter (think sea plankton, algae, microorganisms) buried under pressure and heat for millions of years makes some flammable shite.
This post was edited on 8/28/26 at 1:11 pm
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:13 pm to OWLFAN86
quote:
Do you know what fossil even means?
Yes, back in the 90's I even wore a watch made from fossils.
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:18 pm to Lou
quote:
Is that what oil is, decomposed organic matter?
That has been modified by heat and pressure.
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:19 pm to Lonnie Utah
quote:Is that how new synthetic oils are made?
That has been modified by heat and pressure.
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:20 pm to Lou
quote:
I could do a google search, but I would rather ask here.
Honest question: why?
Cypresstiger’s answer is the correct one, by the way.
This post was edited on 8/28/26 at 4:28 pm
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:24 pm to Lou
quote:
Is that how new synthetic oils are made?
No
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:24 pm to Lou
quote:
So - why are they called "fossil" fuels?
Fossilized remains of ancient (pre-dinosaur) marine organisms.
Please tell me you didn't think the only "fossils" were dinosaurs
quote:
They have found fossils at 25,000 feet only.
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:39 pm to Lou
quote:
Is that how new synthetic oils are made?
You may want to look up what is the base for synthetic oils. Spoiler Alert- They are full of C
Posted on 8/28/26 at 1:56 pm to Lou
A lot of folks are under the false impression that they are called fossil fuels because they contain carbon which must be a natural result of the decay of carbon-based life forms, but this is a swing and a miss for those who hold this belief.
Cypresstiger provided the best explanation for why they are considered fossil fuels, and it has nothing to do with carbon being a foundational part of their chemical makeup. Carbon can, and does, exist in nature without necessarily being a part of a living organism. Diamonds are carbon, but they are not part of a living creature.
A more accurate description of petroleum and coal would be to call them hydrocarbons (which we do) and completely divest ourselves of the term "fossil fuels".
Cypresstiger provided the best explanation for why they are considered fossil fuels, and it has nothing to do with carbon being a foundational part of their chemical makeup. Carbon can, and does, exist in nature without necessarily being a part of a living organism. Diamonds are carbon, but they are not part of a living creature.
A more accurate description of petroleum and coal would be to call them hydrocarbons (which we do) and completely divest ourselves of the term "fossil fuels".
This post was edited on 8/28/26 at 2:17 pm
Posted on 8/28/26 at 2:01 pm to Lou
quote:
So - why are they called "fossil" fuels? They aren't a result of dinosaur bones, so what kind of "fossil" are they referring to?
O&G is a product of deconstructed organic material from plants and animals from eons ago. Plants make fossils too
Posted on 8/28/26 at 2:06 pm to Ace Midnight
quote:
Fossilized remains of ancient (pre-dinosaur) marine organisms.
Well that isn’t what Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Nye and Jamie Lee Curtis told us at the Epcot Universe of Energy exhibit when we passed the huge dinosaurs.
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