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Re: Windshield slime...

To: Keith Hearn <khearn@Legato.COM>, Greg Umbay <greg_umbay@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Windshield slime...
From: Travis Lane <gofastlane@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 23:06:08 -0700 (PDT)
--- Keith Hearn <khearn@Legato.COM> wrote:
> >  
> > I think that each carbon molecule needs one more hydrogen
> > 
> > molecule. I think that 1 carbon molecule can bond to 4 other
> > 
> > molecules...
> 
> The 4 bonds per carbon is right. I'm just not sure if the double bonds
>   between carbons like I drew (C6H6) or two hydrogens per carbon (C6H12)
>   is more stable. I think the extra hydrogens would probably be more
>   stable, assuming they were available. I think either one should be 
>   possible, depending on circumstances.

C6H6, as you drew it, would be called 1,3,5-clyclohexatriene, except that
noone seems to be able to make it, they keep ending up with benzene.  Benzene
is the more common name and while it is also C6H6, there are no real double
bonds, rather the entire ring is 6 resonating hybrid bonds of equal
1.40Angstrom length, in between single and double bond length.

C6H12 is cyclohexane and they are about equally stable, yet react quite
differently.

> But what do I know? Dammit Jim, I'm a Computer Programmer, not a
>   Chemist!

and I'm a Network Engineer, but in my former life, pre-Silicon Valley, I did
my share of chemical engineering.

> 
> This is autox content, really! Fuel is full of bezene rings like 
>   these.  Although a few oxygens tossed in would make it burn 
>   cleaner and probably knock less, if I correctly recall what I've 
>   read about that sort of thing.

Benzene-like compounds, aromatic hydrocarbons, make up about 35% of gasoline
and tossing in some oxygens does clean things up and is, in large part, an
octane enhancer, but not necessarily the best.  As with all things
engineering, it's a compromise.

BTW, I don't recommend gasoline for cleaning the slime from the windshield :),
isopropanol on the other hand...

T  L a n e
Geek, Chemist, Autocrosser

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