How does automobile gas cause air pollution?
The burning of gasoline to power an automobile pumps out exhaust by changing the compounds of the gasoline with a thermal reaction. The burnt remnants of the gas cause smog, include highly toxic chemicals and are often produced in seemingly exponential quantities compared to the quantity of gasoline used.The Combustion EngineThe problem lies in the combustion engine: gasoline is used along with air to fuel small explosions contained in the engine to propel the pistons that turn the crankshaft, translating the movement into rotating tires. Once the gasoline fuels the combustions, the gasoline has been broken down into different compounds by the thermal reaction and is pushed out of the exhaust pipe into the air.Carbon DioxideFossil fuels are rich in carbon, which gets broken down to carbon atoms during the combustion process. Floating into the air in the exhaust, the carbon atoms bind with available oxygen atoms to form the stable molecule carbon dioxide. While not toxic in itself, incr
