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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,392,451 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleOil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing significant amounts of kerogen, from which one can extract liquid hydrocarbons. Deposits of oil shale are located around the world, including major deposits in the United States. Global deposits are estimated as equivalent to 2.8 trillion to 3.3 trillion barrels of recoverable oil. The chemical process of pyrolysis can convert the kerogen in oil shale into synthetic crude oil. When heated to a sufficiently high temperature a vapor is driven off which can be distilled to yield a petroleum-like shale oil—a form of non-conventional oil—and combustible shale gas. Oil shale can also be burnt directly as a low-grade fuel for power generation and heating purposes, and can be used as a raw material in the chemical and construction materials industries. Oil shale has gained attention as an energy resource as the price of conventional sources of petroleum has risen, and as a way for some areas to secure independence from external suppliers of energy. The oil shale industry is well-established in Estonia, China, and Brazil, and the United States is taking steps in that direction. At the same time oil shale mining and processing involves a number of environmental issues, such as land use, waste disposal, water use and waste water management, and air pollution. The industry has foundered in Australia due to its opposition on these grounds. (more…)Recently featured: Troy McClure – F-4 Phantom II – Nguyen Ngoc ThoArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:… that although the Ishvara temple (pictured) in Karnataka, India, seems modest in construction, it is in fact the most complicated Hoysala monument?… that John Kempthorne defeated an attack by seven Algerine corsairs on his single ship, HMS Mary Rose?… that Eisenhower’s home cost more than six times to renovate than it did to purchase, due to union labor and Mamie Eisenhower’s whims?… that German chemist Albert Niemann was the first person to isolate cocaine in 1859?… that the U.S. suspended the Commercial Import Program to South Vietnam after concluding that President Ngo Dinh Diem was using the funds to repress Buddhists rather than communists?… that Cornelia Adair, during World War I, invited Belgian refugees to stay at her Glenveagh Castle in County Donegal, Ireland?… that the Museum at Bethel Woods is devoted mostly to the Woodstock Festival, and located on its site?… that the remnants of defensive walls and stone shelters built by shipwreck survivor Wiebbe Hayes and his men on West Wallabi Island in 1629, are Australia’s oldest known European structures?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsNepal (flag pictured) is declared a republic by its newly elected government, and King Gyanendra ends his reign as the last of a 240-year-old monarchy.In the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake, the People’s Republic of China evacuates 100,000 people from Mianyang as engineers prepare to drain the landslide dam-created Tangjiashan Lake.Ethiopia’s Supreme Court upholds former ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam’s conviction and sentences him to death in absentia for his role in the Red Terror.NASA’s Phoenix lands on Mars, the first successful powered descent on the planet in over 30 years.In auto racing, Scott Dixon wins the Indianapolis 500 and Lewis Hamilton wins the Monaco Grand Prix.The Lebanese Parliament elects General Michel Sleiman, commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, to the six-month-vacant post of president.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…May 29:363 – Roman Emperor Julian defeated Sassanid Emperor Shapur II outside the walls of the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon, but was unable to take the city.1167 – A 1,600-man force of the Holy Roman Empire led by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel defeated a 10,000-man Papal States army.1848 – Wisconsin became the 30th U.S. state admitted to the Union.1913 – The Rite of Spring, a ballet with music by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky (pictured), was first performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.1953 – New Zealand explorer Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest.1999 – Olusegun Obasanjo took office as President of Nigeria, the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule.More events: May 28 – May 29 – May 30Archive – By email – More anniversaries…Today’s featured pictureA diagram of the human respiratory system, which consists of the airways, the lungs, and the respiratory muscles that mediate the movement of air into and out of the body. Within the alveolar system of the lungs, molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide are passively exchanged, by diffusion, between the gaseous environment and the blood. Thus, the respiratory system facilitates oxygenation of the blood with a concomitant removal of carbon dioxide and other gaseous metabolic wastes from the circulation.Image credit: Mariana RuizRecently featured: Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir – Lawn mower racing – Queen Wilhelmina and Princess JulianaArchive – More featured pictures…