What is the source of energy that is stored in fossil fuels?

Question

What is the source of energy that is stored in fossil fuels?

Answer 1

Think of it this way: Millions of years of plants and animals absorbing sun energy, and storing it in complex chemical forms in their bodies, which then decayed. We are breaking those chemicals up to catch the energy saved there by life processes. Carbon is key, because it can combine with many other elements in a lot of ways.

Answer 2

Carbon that can be oxidized....

Answer 3

photo synthesis has separated carbon and hydrogen from oxygen and incorporated them into plant material.

that plant material was covered and heated, much like a kiln is used to dry wood, but at higher temperatures and pressures, to transform them into the coal, oil, and natural gas we use today.

the sun was the source of the energy for that process.

and it required many millions of years to store the relatively small amounts of solar energy that we've used in a hundred or two years.

comparing the rate at which fossil fuels were created, to the average rate at which we're using them over the last 50 years, it's like we store up solar energy for 2 years, and use it all up in 1 minute.

if you just use the rate today, it would take 5-10 years to store up the energy we use in 1 minute.

Answer 4

ALL is made at one point by the sun.