what+gasoline+is

=What is gasoline?= Gasoline is known as an **aliphatic hydrocarbon**. In other words, gasoline is made up of molecules composed of nothing but hydrogen and carbon arranged in chains. Gasoline molecules have from seven to 11 carbons in each chain. Here are some common configurations:

code H H H H H H H    | | | | | | | H-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-H        Heptane | | | | | | |    H H H H H H H

H H H H H H H H    | | | | | | | | H-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-H      Octane | | | | | | | |    H H H H H H H H

H H H H H H H H H    | | | | | | | | | H-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-H    Nonane | | | | | | | | |    H H H H H H H H H

H H H H H H H H H H    | | | | | | | | | | H-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-H  Decane | | | | | | | | | |    H H H H H H H H H H

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When you burn gasoline under ideal conditions, with plenty of oxygen, you get carbon dioxide (from the carbon atoms in gasoline), water (from the hydrogen atoms) and lots of heat. A gallon of gasoline contains about 132x106 joules of [|energy], which is equivalent to 125,000 BTU or 36,650 watt-hours:
 * Typical molecules found in gasoline**
 * If you took a 1,500-watt [|space heater] and left it on full blast for a full 24-hour day, that's about how much heat is in a gallon of gas.