Burning Daylight

In conversation with William Buckland, the noted geologist, George Stephenson asked what his companion thought was the fuel for steam locomotives. After a little teasing on both sides, Stephenson made the serious point that coal, as carbonized vegetation, is stored-up sunlight, and that trains are effectively solar-powered.

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Discovery and Invention (93) Extracts from Scientific Literature (12) George Stephenson (17) Northumberland (30) Samuel Smiles (33) Railways (35) Biographical Extracts (43) Comment and Opinion (70) Victorian Era (106) British History (377) Extracts from Literature (459) History (777)

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