This report presents a study of the structure of lubricating oils on the basis of synthetical rather than analytical work. Several series of hydrocarbons consisting of alkyl derivatives of benzene, naphthalene, and diphenyl have been prepared to determine the effect of chemical structure on their chemical and physical properties. A relationship is established for these hydrocarbons between their viscosity characteristics and chemical structure. This study includes such structural factors as length, unsaturation, and branching of side chains.The effects on viscosity of other characteristics such as cyclization, reduction of aromatic to hydroaromatic rings, multiplicity of side chains, and allocation of the latter in the nucleus, are also considered.© •IHE interest of chemists in the composition 1 of petroleum oils has remained unabated