However, in general and perhaps surprisingly, when branching is not extensive enough to make highly disfavorable 1,2- and 1,3-alkyl–alkyl steric interactions (worth ~3.1 kcal/mol and ~3.7 kcal/mol in the case of the eclipsing conformations of butane and pentane, respectively) unavoidable, the branched alkanes are actually more thermodynamically stable than their linear (or less branched) isomers.
haʊˈɛvɚ, ɪn dʒˈɛnɚɹəl ænd pɚhˈæps sɚpɹˈaɪzɪŋli, wˌɛn bɹˈæntʃɪŋ ɪz nˌɑːt ɛkstˈɛnsɪv ɪnˈʌf tə mˌeɪk hˈaɪli dɪsfˈeɪvɚɹəbəl wˈʌn,tˈuː ænd wˈʌn,θɹˈiːˈælkaɪl ˈælkaɪl stˈɛɹɪk ˌɪntɚɹˈækʃənz wˈɜːθ tˈɪldə θɹˈiː.wˈʌn kˈeɪkˈæl slˈæʃ mˈɑːl ænd tˈɪldə θɹˈiː.sˈɛvən kˈeɪkˈæl slˈæʃ mˈɑːl ɪnðə kˈeɪs ʌvðɪ ɪklˈɪpsɪŋ kɑːnfoːɹmˈeɪʃənz ʌv bjˈuːteɪn ænd pˈɛnteɪn, ɹᵻspˈɛktɪvli ʌnɐvˈɔɪdəbəl, ðə bɹˈæntʃt ˈælkeɪnz ɑːɹ ˈæktʃuːəli mˈoːɹ θˌɜːmoʊdaɪnˈæmɪkli stˈeɪbəl ðɐn ðɛɹ lˈɪnɪɹ ɔːɹ lˈɛs bɹˈæntʃt ˈaɪsəmɚz.