Featured Article: What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
In salt caverns that dot the Gulf Coast, the U.S. government stores a secret weapon -- an enormous reserve of crude oil. Why do we keep so much oil sitting around? See more »
The greatest need modern civilizations have is energy. Learn about oil, electricity and newer forms of energy like solar and wind power.
In salt caverns that dot the Gulf Coast, the U.S. government stores a secret weapon -- an enormous reserve of crude oil. Why do we keep so much oil sitting around? See more »
Laws, treaties and the limits of human technology have kept some petroleum reserves just beyond the reach of oil companies. So where are they dying to drill?
See more »Manufacturers -- whether they make corn ethanol fuel, biodiesel fuel, pancake syrup or even frozen pizza -- produce waste and polluted water. Now there's a completely new process called Activated Carbon Facilitated Oxidation, or AC FOX that can handle water that is polluted with organic material. Learn all about AC FOX.
See more »If it weren't for the billions of barrels of oil estimated to lie within its borders, you might never have heard of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But this protected corner of Alaska has generated more controversy than its vast, arctic acres co
See more »Just like every major blackout, the August 14th power failure raised a lot of questions about our power distribution system. Find out how any number of events can turn out the lights for millions of people.
See more »Have you ever wondered what happens when you flip a switch to turn something on? You're completing an electric circuit, allowing a current, or flow of electrons, through the wires.
See more »Who made it possible to light up your home at night? Thomas Edison, right? Yes, but without the work of Nikola Tesla, we would be living in a different world.
See more »Hazardous waste disposal is an ongoing struggle that's monitored by the EPA. How is meant to be disposed of, and what happens when something goes wrong?
See more »Without gasoline, the world as we know it would grind to a screeching halt. The U.S. alone consumes well over a hundred billion gallons of gasoline per year. Learn all about this vital fuel.
See more »The basic idea isn't new, but the process of modern hydropower conversion is high-tech. Today's hydropower plants are some of the coolest machines ever constructed. Find out how rushing water generates power.
See more »Drilling down thousands of feet in lightless ocean depths and transporting that oil to the surface without spilling it isn't exactly easy. Did we mention the rough seas?
See more »Bubblin' crude. Black gold. Texas tea. Whatever you call it, oil is a valuable commodity. Finding and extracting it is a fascinating process. Find out all about modern oil exploration and drilling.
See more »A recent fire at a New York oil refinery pumped clouds of black smoke into the city skyline. Despite the dangers, oil refineries are essential to society in its current form. Learn how crude oil is converted into everything from butane to gasoline.
See more »In "Back to the Future," Doc Brown throws garbage into Mr. Fusion, powering his time machine. We might be closer than you think to generating electricity for our homes using trash.
See more »Last week's massive power failure illustrated a major problem inherent in the standard electricity distribution system. Learn all about the technology at the heart of this story.
See more »Solar cells use sunlight to produce electricity. But what happens on a cloudy day? Learn all about solar cells and what it would take to power your entire house with solar energy.
See more »You've probably never noticed how many of these you use everyday, but HowStuffWorks took the time to count them and take them apart to see what's inside!
See more »Oil drilling, though difficult, is pretty simple when compared to oil shale extraction. Getting oil shale, solidified oil trapped inside rock, to the surface is currently more expensive and environmentally harmful than conventional drilling. How much do you know about this potential fuel source trapped beneath the Earth's crust?
See more »Solar cells are on everything from pocket calculators to the roofs of buildings. So exactly how do they turn light into energy?
See more »OK, correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it, volts measure the potential for energy to travel and ohms measure the resistance to the electrical flow, but then what are amps and watts?
See more »In salt caverns that dot the Gulf Coast, the U.S. government stores a secret weapon -- an enormous reserve of crude oil. Why do we keep so much oil sitting around?
See more »