Why are some oils called synthetic and others mineral ones?
This refers to the origin of the base fluid. Mineral oils are derived by refining processes, essentially a complex series of purification and separation steps, from crude petroleum oil extracted from the ground. Synthetic base fluids are made by chemical processes, generally by building up larger molecules from smaller ones. Because these chemical reactions and starting materials are well defined, the synthetic fluids are not only relatively pure chemicals but are deliberately made to deliver the performance characteristics required in a lubricant.
