According to scientific research, we can learn that the Earth was born 4.6 billion years ago, which is at the beginning of the formation of the solar system. Before the solar system came into being, there was a solar nebula in the cosmic space, composed of gas and diffuse solid particles. As the solar nebula rotated, its density and temperature began to rise due to gravitational contraction. Eventually, the sun formed in the central part, and after the sun was formed, the surrounding residual materials formed a disk around it. The materials in the disk collided and attracted each other, gradually forming particles several centimeters in size. These particles continued to attract and collide with each other, aggregating into larger lumps, just like rolling snowballs, with increasing mass and volume, and finally forming planets. The primitive Earth also basically took shape. In the early stages of Earth's formation, the temperature dropped, and condensation phenomena occurred on its surface, while the high temperature inside the Earth promoted frequent volcanic activities. The volatile gases formed during volcanic eruptions became the initial atmosphere of the Earth. As solar radiation penetrated deeper into the Earth's surface, a large amount of oxygen was produced in the Earth's atmosphere through the intense photosynthesis of ultraviolet rays, providing conditions for the emergence of life.

Through scientific research, it has been found that life on Earth originated 3.8 billion years ago, and the earliest life was cellular. The birth of cells marked the completion of chemical life and the beginning of biological evolution. Biological evolution, which began with the appearance of the earliest cellular life, has gone through the Archean (3.8 billion years ago to 2.5 billion years ago), Proterozoic (2.5 billion years ago to 600 million years ago), and Phanerozoic (600 million years to the present). Humans evolved from ape-like creatures, but the biggest difference between humans and other animals is that humans have developed wisdom. With wisdom, humans have stood at the top of the Earth's food chain in just a few thousand years, which shows that the speed of human technological development is very fast. The reason why humans can have such advanced technology is mainly because humans have utilized many resources on Earth, such as coal. Its main significance is reflected in the following aspects:

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1. Energy supply: Coal is an important energy resource and occupies an important position in the global energy structure. It is widely used for power generation, providing a large amount of electricity for industrial production and residential life.

2. Industrial production: In the industrial fields of steel, chemical, cement, etc., coal plays a key role as raw material or fuel. For example, in the coking process, coal is the main raw material for producing coke, and coke is indispensable for steel smelting.

3. Economic development: The mining, processing, and related industries of coal have created a large number of job opportunities for many countries and regions, promoting economic growth and development.

4. Winter heating: In cold areas, coal is used for heating, ensuring the warmth and comfort of residents in winter.

5. Basic materials: Coal can be chemically processed into a variety of chemical products, such as coal tar, coal gas, etc., which are the basic materials for many industrial productions.

In fact, the use of coal by humans did not start in modern times. In ancient times, humans had already utilized coal. In the early stages of society, there was no industry to speak of. In the early primitive and Stone Age, there were many people who picked up scattered coal on the ground as fuel. However, open-pit coal was not very common. In ancient Chinese mythological stories, there was already coal. As early as 2,500 years ago, the ancient work "Shan Hai Jing" recorded coal, which was called "Shi Huang". Archaeological excavations have found "coal carvings" from the Stone Age six thousand years ago, which proves that people at that time already knew how to use coal. Later, the Xia and Shang dynasties, due to low productivity, were basically also mainly picking up coal, but the use was more common. By the Zhou Dynasty, coal mining began to take shape and slowly developed. By the time of the Han Dynasty, there was a significant development in the coal industry.Because China has essentially transitioned from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, the iron smelting industry has flourished. However, wood cannot provide the temperature required for iron smelting, hence the demand for coal increased. By the time of the Ming Dynasty, coal mining technology had become very mature. At that time, coal could be mined to a depth of hundreds of feet, and the extraction of underground coal had become more sophisticated with a significant output. To this day, the demand for coal has not ceased. Seeing this, many people may wonder how coal is formed on Earth. According to scientific research, the Appalachian coalfield in the eastern United States is the world's largest coal-producing field, spanning nine eastern states and stretching over 1,200 kilometers, with the deepest coal seam reaching 1,000 meters. Satellite data indicates that the coal reserves of the Appalachian coalfield amount to 31.68 billion tons. The field has been mined since 1750, producing 400 million tons of coal annually, and there is no sign of depletion to this day.

By the end of 2020, the world's proven coal reserves were 1.07 trillion tons. Regionally, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 42.8%, North America 23.9%, and the European Union 7.3%. In terms of countries, the United States has the richest coal reserves globally, representing 23.2% of the world's resources. In China, coal is mainly distributed in the North China, Northwest, Southwest, and Northeast regions, with North China having a significant amount of coal reserves, including areas such as Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Hebei. Coalfield resources in different regions vary in terms of reserves, coal types, and mining conditions. However, with so many coal resources globally, how are these coal resources formed? Scientific research has found that coal in the Earth's strata is formed from the remains of prehistoric plants through millions of years of transformation. The main periods for coal formation in the strata are the Carboniferous, Permian, and Triassic periods, with coal from the Carboniferous period accounting for more than half.

During the early Carboniferous period, the land area continued to expand, and plants gradually adapted to the terrestrial environment, with various plants thriving. In the late Triassic and early Jurassic periods, the global climate began to become hot and humid, expanding the range of plant growth and further forming a large amount of coal layers. The formation of coal in the strata can be roughly divided into three stages: the first stage is physical accumulation. After plants die, a large number of remains accumulate in place or are transported by water and wind to a specific area, such as downstream of rivers, delta shallow water basins, and gradually form swamps over time. At the same time, sand and soil materials also accumulate here, forming a new rock layer with plant remains. The second stage is biochemical decomposition. Under the action of various anaerobic and aerobic microorganisms, plant remains are decomposed and destroyed, forming new organic compounds rich in carbon and hydrogen elements, resulting in peat and mud with a carbon content much higher than that of plants.

The third stage is coalification. The peat in the strata gradually transforms into lignite with biological rock characteristics under long-term pressure. Over time, the lignite in the strata continues to be dehydrated under pressure and high temperatures, losing a large number of oxygen-containing functional groups in its molecular structure, and its structure becomes more stable. During this process, lignite gradually transitions to bituminous coal and anthracite. The vegetation of the Carboniferous period mainly consisted of ferns, lycopods, and early gymnosperms. These plants grew continuously in suitable environments, forming large swamps and forests. After the plants died, they gradually accumulated and formed large swamps in a moist environment. These organic layers were deposited underground and, after millions of years of high temperature and high pressure, slowly formed coal. Throughout geological history, there have been three major coal-forming periods globally:

1. The Carboniferous and Permian periods of the Paleozoic Era, with spore plants as the main coal-forming plants, and the main types of coal being bituminous coal and anthracite;

2. The Jurassic and Cretaceous periods of the Mesozoic Era, with gymnosperms as the main coal-forming plants, and the main types of coal being lignite and bituminous coal.3. During the Cenozoic Era of the Phanerozoic Eon, the primary coal-forming plants were angiosperms, with lignite being the main type of coal, followed by peat, and some young bituminous coal as well.

Coal is of significant importance to humanity, yet it is considered a non-renewable resource. This designation is primarily based on several key reasons: Firstly, the formation of coal requires an extremely long period of time, and the conditions for the formation of coalfields are very stringent and difficult to replicate. They necessitate specific geographic environments, climatic conditions, and a substantial accumulation of plant debris, which are hard to meet simultaneously in society. Moreover, the reserves of coal resources are finite. As humans continue to mine and utilize them, there will inevitably come a day when all coal resources on Earth will be depleted. If all coal resources on Earth are exhausted, what other resources could be harnessed by humans? Although humans can still utilize petroleum, natural gas, combustible ice, and so on, these resources are also non-renewable and will eventually be consumed by humans.

Currently, scientists are actively researching controlled nuclear fusion technology. Recently, the LLNL team in the United States successfully achieved ignition of controlled nuclear fusion, taking a crucial step towards the dream of clean energy for humanity. China's all-superconducting tokamak nuclear fusion experimental device has achieved a long-pulse high-parameter plasma operation of 1056 seconds, breaking the world record. Subsequently, Academician Peng Xianju of the Chinese Academy of Engineering stated that nuclear fusion power generation is only six years away from us. However, this six-year timeframe does not refer to a fully mature nuclear fusion reaction but rather the construction of the world's largest pulse-driven device, namely the nuclear fusion power station, within six years. This will be a milestone reform. The nuclear fusion power station to be built will not utilize nuclear fusion power generation at 100%. Instead, it will adopt a hybrid model of nuclear fusion and nuclear fission, allowing the fuel to undergo small-scale controlled nuclear fusion first, and then, after the neutron energy is enhanced, they will bombard atoms to initiate fission. The entire process will take place in the hybrid fusion reactor of Z-FFR.

This technology can increase the utilization rate of nuclear energy and enhance safety. Therefore, many countries are actively researching controlled nuclear fusion. If humanity can truly achieve controlled nuclear fusion in the future, the demand for energy will no longer be a concern, as the energy provided by controlled nuclear fusion is virtually unlimited and clean. It can also bring about significant changes to the Earth's environment. The nuclear fusion process does not produce greenhouse gases and pollutants, which is beneficial for environmental and ecological protection and for achieving green and low-carbon development goals. Moreover, it can provide strong propulsion and electricity for spacecraft, greatly improving their performance and efficiency, reducing the cost and difficulty of space travel, and making human colonization of the Moon, the establishment of permanent lunar bases, and the conduct of lunar scientific research and resource development a possibility. It can also help spacecraft reach higher speeds and travel greater distances, aiding humanity in exploring unknown territories such as Mars, the asteroid belt, and the outer solar system, in search of extraterrestrial life and civilizations, and even achieving interstellar travel. Humans can also use nuclear fusion reactors for various space research purposes.

However, the realization of controlled nuclear fusion still faces many challenges, requiring scientists to continuously explore and break through in technology, engineering, and other areas. Currently, humanity is still far from truly mastering controlled nuclear fusion technology, so continued efforts are necessary. Controlled nuclear fusion is not the ultimate goal for humanity; antimatter is. According to Einstein's mass-energy equivalence formula, the mass-energy conversion rate of nuclear fission is approximately 0.13%, meaning that only 0.13g of 100g of fission material is converted into energy. Nuclear fusion is about 0.7%, meaning that 0.7g of 100g of fusion material is converted into energy. Although both nuclear fission and fusion are powerful, they pale in comparison to antimatter. Currently, the only known 100% conversion rate is that of antimatter. When antimatter encounters matter, the annihilation produces energy at a 100% conversion rate. Therefore, scientists refer to it as the most perfect mass-energy conversion. Scientists have calculated that 1 gram of antimatter must annihilate completely with 1 gram of matter to produce an energy of 1.8*10^17 joules.For humans, this conversion rate is perfect and the most powerful. If humanity can successfully implement this technology, then exploring the universe will become much easier. The editor believes that as the most intelligent life on Earth, human technology is continuously advancing and developing. What seems incredible now may one day become a reality in the future. Just as ancient people could never have imagined that modern humans could leave Earth to explore the universe, we today cannot fathom that future generations might immigrate to other planets. Therefore, as long as humanity keeps striving and developing, everything is possible. The editor hopes that humanity can realize its dreams sooner. What do you all think about this?