Talk:Gasoline: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 21:50, 4 October 2005

There was a dispute about this article's title; whether it should be moved to Petrol. Many arguments were presented for both sides. After all else failed, consensus was to keep the original editor's title, as per the Wikipedia:Manual of Style:

"If all else fails, consider following the spelling style preferred by the first major contributor (that is, not a stub) to the article."

The page is currently protected from moving, and any attempts to move it will be reverted.

See Talk:Gasoline/archive2#Article name for the extent of the dispute.

Page 3

I think we need a lock on this article for the moment. GraemeLeggett 14:34, 11 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Or an IP block. See User_talk:Omegatron#gasoline_flame_war - Omegatron 14:51, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

81.154.229.150 is one of my compatriots, I fear, RIPE shows them on BT Broadband. GraemeLeggett 15:15, 11 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

What were you expecting? :-) Don't worry, we won't make sweeping generalizations about your imperialistic tendencies.

It seems that whoever archived the talk page forgot that we were going to leave a note about the dispute and the consensus decision, however. - Omegatron 15:24, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Well that was fun. Come get me next time before it lasts this long. --Golbez 00:19, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

"This long"? You caught it in two minutes. :-) - Omegatron 01:09, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

I believe that Golbez was referring not to this specific instance, but to the repeated vandalism / 3RR violation on the part of 81.154.229.150 (blocked by Golbez for forty-eight hours). —Lifeisunfair 01:18, 13 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, my usual block is 24h but he had violated the vaunted 18 revert rule. :P --Golbez 01:31, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

Octane in percent

I still am confused as to why gasoline octane ratings refer to a percentage (which, in this case can't be over 100%) but fuels with octanes of over 100 exist.

Its percentage compared to another fuel (2,3-dimethylpentane, if my chemistry serves me right). Same way as, say, height can be compared to a percentage of, say, 6 foot - 7 foot would be 116%. --Kiand 19:58, 29 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

2,2,4-trimethylpentane, according to this encyclopaedia. Ah well. --Kiand 20:00, 29 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Leaded gasoline causing damage to children's growth?

I learned in my economics course that leaded gasoline had faded out of use, because it had a negative impact on the growth of children (it supposedly caused mental disorders and what not). Could someone investigate this and incorporate it into the article? --Ted 05:53, August 17, 2005 (UTC)

The article Tetra-ethyl_lead seems to cover this. Do you think it should be made clearer that TEL damaged people and the environment in this article? --65.167.23.134 19:34, 22 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

It didn't "fade out of use", it was outright banned in most of the world. Across the EU no new car from 1993 onwards could use it, for instance. It was used a lot later in the EU than the US for some reason, possibly down to EU cars being designed for higher octane fuel - no cars here can touch petrol under 95RON, and yet the US "87 Octane" stuff converts to around 91 RON, for instance. --Kiand 21:35, 22 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Relating to "The Day after Tomorrow"

Does fuel REALLY freeze at -108*C (-150*F) as they say in that movie when the RAF helicopters go down?

It depends... Gasoline stops burning at -98F, I believe. --SodiumBenzoate 00:19, 3 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Is smell a gas?

apples have smells, so do woods...while we classify these things as solids, how do you explain the smell?

Asking on a page about Petrol, no matter how annoying misnamed it is, isn't going to get you an answer to this. Asking on Smell might. --Kiand 18:15, 21 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Odors are the result of volatile chemical compounds that are released by a substance as vapor and that can be detected by sensor cells in the nose. Many solids as well as liquids give off these compounds; those that give off a lot are "smelly." Gasoline is highly volatile, meaning that it readily become vaporous, which is why it has a strong odor. In fact, it is these vapors that burn rather than the liquid; hence the need for a carburetor or fuel injection. --Tysto 17:52, 24 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Origin of "petrol"

So which is it? Does "petrol" come from "petroleum spirit" (opening) or from French "petrole"? (Pharmeceutical section) --Tysto 22:21, 26 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

At some British "Petrol Stations" it can be referred to as "petroleum spirit". For example, in signs such as "Danger: Petroleum Spirit, Highly Flammable!", so i would consider it likely that the former is true (without discounting the possibility of both being true, or having elements of truth). Guinness 15:44, 29 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I didn't have time to look it up when I asked before, but Answer.com's Houghten-Mifflen Dictionary says the origin is French "petrole".

I'll take your word for it in that case, as, I have to confess that the "petroleum spirit" was an educated guess. Guinness 09:35, 30 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Broken Link on this page

The link, Gasoline Images - Vintage American gas station and fuel dispenser stock photography, link courtesy of http://www.coolstock.com Links to a 404... Am I allowed to fix/remove it?