Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 alpha 4/15/85; site weitek.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!prls!amdimage!amdcad!cae780!weitek!mmm From: mmm@weitek.UUCP (Mark Thorson) Newsgroups: net.auto Subject: Octane refers to molec. struc. Message-ID: <274@weitek.UUCP> Date: Sat, 21-Sep-85 18:28:49 EDT Article-I.D.: weitek.274 Posted: Sat Sep 21 18:28:49 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 25-Sep-85 07:03:30 EDT Organization: Weitek Corp. Sunnyvale Ca. Lines: 12 Keywords: octane, combustion, branching My organic chemistry professor in college (J. Cason) was assigned to study octane during the war. What his group did was synthesize gallons of all the octanes (note: not octenes, there'd be hundreds of those) and run them in an engine. They found that octane ratings correlated to the molecular structure. Highly branched octanes have more ends for combustion to initiate on than straight chains or rings. The energy contained within the same weight of one octane will be the same as any other, but I suppose the mass density (hence energy density) may vary slightly. Mark Thorson (...!cae780!weitek!mmm) Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com