Octane rating, also called octane number, is a standard measure of how much a fuel can be compressed in an internal combustion engine before it ignites on its own and causes knocking. A higher octane number means the fuel can withstand more compression before auto igniting. The rating does not by itself indicate power output or energy content; whether a higher octane fuel helps a given engine depends on the engine's own compression design. Diesel engines instead favor fuels with a high cetane number rather than a high octane number, because they ignite fuel by compressing air first rather than compressing an air fuel mixture. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Concept Domain Formulated YearThis is the year the iso-octane/n-heptane reference-fuel method underlying the modern octane scale was devised by Graham Edgar; comparing fuels for knock resistance is older than this specific reference method. Sources
1. Wikipedia: Octane rating
Introduction
An octane rating, or octane number, is a standard measure of a fuel's ability to withstand compression in an internal combustion engine without causing engine knocking.
History, reference fuels
Graham Edgar devised a method of measuring a fuel's knock resistance by comparing it to a mixture of iso-octane and n-heptane in 1927.
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