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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)