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Density Factors

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• Why does water have a higher density than diesel fuel?

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Why does water have a higher density than diesel fuel?

Question

May 15, 2009

Why does water have a higher density than diesel or jet fuel?

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Answer

Density of a liquid is related to the mass of the molecules and their separation. With liquids, they often talk about them in terms of the specific gravity, which is the ratio between the density of the liquid and the density of water.

Although diesel fuel and jet fuel have large, complex molecules, those molecules are separated apart, such that the mass divided by the volume of liquid (the density) is less than water. In water, the molecules are much closer together.

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