Gas - what is it on the ethereum network?
Gas in the Ethereum Network - is not a token but a dynamic indicator measured in units, representing the payment for actions in the network. Simply put, it is the fee that needs to be paid. This is necessary to protect the network from congestion, as its computational power can be used for various purposes, but its resources are not infinite.
If we use an analogy, gas can be compared to gasoline (in fact, the term "gas" would be more accurately translated as "fuel"): just as you need gasoline to drive a car somewhere, gas is required to perform operations in the Ethereum network. Moreover, depending on the complexity of the operation, different amounts of gas may be required.
Users can set the maximum amount of gas that can be used for a transaction - this is necessary because during periods of high network load, fees increase significantly, and the expenses for them can become too high. The amount of gas that can be spent on an operation determines the execution priority, so if you spend less, you will simply have to wait longer. However, if you set a too low gas limit, the operation will take a very long time or may be canceled altogether - so balance is important. You can conveniently monitor the gas cost on the portal 👉 Etherscan.
Instead of directly paying with Ethereum, intermediate gas is introduced to separate the cost of computations required for network operations from Ethereum itself - as a result, changes in exchange rates do not affect the network's operation.