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Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gasoline

Gasoline is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. Before internal combustion engines were invented in the mid-1800s, gasoline was sold in small bottles as a treatment against lice and their eggs. This treatment method is no longer common because of the inherent fire hazard and the risk of dermatitis. Gasoline is produced in oil refineries. Material that is separated from crude oil via distillation, called natural gasoline, does not meet the required specifications for modern engines, but will form part of the blend.

The bulk of a typical gasoline consists of hydrocarbons with between 5 and 12 carbon atoms per molecule. Many of these hydrocarbons are considered hazardous substances and, in the United States, are regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

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Matter & Energy News

October 29, 2026

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Scientists discovered that atomic steps just one atom high can guide quantum vortices through superconductors, making them move more than 1,000 times more easily in one direction than another. This remarkable control over quantum motion could lead ...
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Oxford physicists have recreated a bizarre quantum effect in which a particle responds to a magnetic field without ever traveling through it. Using a hybrid quantum computer, they demonstrated how introducing a simulated magnetic flux could ...
Scientists have uncovered a surprising hidden ability of light that allows it to develop spinning, twisting behavior as it travels through empty space, without special lenses, mirrors, or materials. ...

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