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Definition
Acetylene is the simplest alkyne (hydrocarbons that have a triple bond between two carbon atoms, with the formula CnH2n−2). Under standard conditions in the laboratory, it is a colorless but unstable gas. Because of its symmetry, linear of the form HCCH, it lacks a permanent electric dipole moment and hence has no allowed pure rotational transitions, making it undetectable at millimeter wavelengths. Astronomers have observed its vibrational transitions in the infrared, in both molecular clouds and in the envelopes of evolved stars. It is an important link in the chemistry of heavier carbon chain molecules and related species in these regions. Acetylene is also found as a minor component in the atmospheres of gas giants like the planet Jupiter, in the atmosphere of Saturn’s satellite Titan, and in comets.
History
Acetylene was discovered in 1836 by Edmund Davy and then rediscovered in 1860 by French chemist Marcellin Berthelot, who coined the name...
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References and Further Reading
Brooke TY, Tokunaga AT, Weaver HA, Crovisier J, Bockelée-Morvan D, Crisp D (1996) Detection of acetylene in the infrared spectrum of comet Hyakutake. Nature 383:606–608
Hartquist TW, Williams DA (1995) The chemically controlled cosmos. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Lacy JH, Evans NJ II, Achtermann JM, Bruce DE, Arens JF, Carr JS (1989) Discovery of interstellar acetylene. Astrophys J 342:L43–L46
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Irvine, W.M. (2023). Acetylene (C2H2). In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-65093-6_1824
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