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As consumer concerns have focused their attention on faster and smaller technologies there are many products, including hard drives, which require trace amounts of lubricants for proper operation. Engineers of today are faced with the daunting task of pushing the limits of technologies and designing the next generation of products that will appease consumers of the future. The following study investigates the evaporation rates of pump oil and several alkanes, which have a wide range of applications, using a thermogravimetric machine. Included in Investigation of Evaporation is a brief history of evaporation studies, the theory behind and importance of the contributing factors, and the application of these theories in predictive modeling. This investigation draws on the author s academic experience and extensive research on the subject of evaporation, specifically the evaporation of hydrocarbons. Investigation of Evaporation serves as a model for those in R&D, manufacturing, or simply those who operate cutting edge technologies and wish to gain a better understanding of the rate of evaporation associated with specific lubricants.

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Nathaniel Waldstein was born the youngest of three brothers in Dubuque Iowa in 1982. Waldstein has spent the majority of his life in the west central area of Florida where he received both a Bachelor of Science as well as a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Florida located in Tampa Florida.

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