Mine safety in coal mines, which in turn can initiate more extensive coal dust explosions. For this reason, rock dusts such as limestone dust are spread throughout coal mines to diminish the chances of coal dust explosions as well as to limit the extent of potential explosions, in a process known as rock dusting. Coal dust explosions can also begin independently of methane gas explosions. Frictional heat and sparks generated by mining equipment can ignite both methane gas and coal dust. For this reason, water is often used to cool rock-cutting sites. Miners utilize equipment strong enough to break through extremely hard
Caliban in the Coal Mines God, You don't know what it is — You, in Your well-lighted sky — Watching the meteors whizz; Warm, with a sun always by. God, if You had but the moon Stuck in Your cap for a lamp, Even You'd tire of it soon, Down in the dark and the damp. Nothing but blackness above And nothing that moves but the cars … God, if You wish for our love, Fling us a handful of stars! Caliban in the Coal Mines Caliban in the Coal Mines was written by the American poet Louis Untermeyer (1885–1977) and published in his 1914