March 16, 2005
Send your car to the quantum mechanics
How do motor oil additives work, and how might they be improved?
To unlock the deeper secrets behind additives, Müser and his team used computer simulations to subject the most popular lubricant additives — zinc dialkyldithiophosphates, also called ZDDPs — to conditions similar to those that would be found in a running engine. . .From Discovery News.The researchers determined, through quantum chemical simulations, that pressure within an engine, and not heat, causes changes to occur within ZDDP. When first subjected to pressure, ZDDP has a somewhat disconnected state, where its chemical bonds are loosely arranged. As pressure builds, atoms form cross-linked, tight bonds.
When the substance was at this high-pressure stage, Müser and his colleagues were able to confirm a popular motor oil advertising claim: additives do act as "smart materials."
Posted by David on March 16, 2005 9:03 AM
Interesting. I wonder what happens to ZDDP under vacuum conditions....
Posted by: Sarah
on March 16, 2005 10:44 AM
I saw an article which claimed that chemists and computer experts could do a detailed study of oil and other fluids from a vehicle, and diagnose a variety of current and future problems with the engine...
But I never heard that they could simulate the oil in the engine this way.
I suppose the oil manufacturers made the claim, but have never showed their proof. Or the proof hasn't been independently verified until now.
Posted by: steve h
on March 17, 2005 12:38 PM
gmail.com