system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is the benefit of making/using charcoal as opposed to regular wood?

Why do we make charcoal? I don't see how charcoal could have more potential energy than the original wood it came from since it used to be wood and some of it has already been spent.
gpt
While wood has more potential energy, a lot of it is wasted evaporating/boiling water and other noncombustible impurities.  By heating wood slowly in the absence of oxygen, these impurities are removed, leaving mostly the combustibles.

This makes charcoal lighter, yet because it is porous and lacks the noncombustibles, it burns at a hotter temperature, hot enough to melt metals like iron.