Natural

Name:
Natural
Detailed information:
Descriptive of a substance or mixture that occurs in nature; the opposite of synthetic or manufactured. Elements 1–92 are natural substances that may occur in either the free or combined state. The transuranium elements and all artificial isotopes of other elements are synthetic. Many mixtures occur naturally, e.g., petroleum, shale oil, wood, metallic ores, natural gas; others are synthetic modifications of natural compounds, e.g., glass, cement, paper, gasoline. Such materials may be considered to be semisynthetic. The term synthetic natural is often applied to synthesized compounds that are identical with the natural substance; for example, synthetic natural gas and synthetic natural rubber. The term natural product is defined as any organic compound formed by living organisms; natural gasoline has a specialized meaning.See Synthesis; Natural Gas; Biomass; Gasoline.