methane series
methane series
1885–90
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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| to remove impurities from a gas by chemical means, as sulfur dioxide from smokestack gas or carbon dioxide from exhaled air in life-support packs |
| the process or result of a chemical reaction to oxygen, or the deposit that forms on the surface of a metal as it oxidizes |
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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| methane series
The alkane series. See under alkane. |
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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methane series
any of the saturated hydrocarbons having the general formula CnH2n+2, C being a carbon atom, H a hydrogen atom, and n an integer. The paraffins are major constituents of natural gas and petroleum. Paraffins containing fewer than 5 carbon atoms per molecule are usually gaseous at room temperature, those having 5 to 15 carbon atoms are usually liquids, and the straight-chain paraffins having more than 15 carbon atoms per molecule are solids. Branched-chain paraffins have a much higher octane number rating than straight-chain paraffins and, therefore, are the more desirable constituents of gasoline. The hydrocarbons are immiscible with water but are soluble in absolute alcohol, ether, and acetone. All paraffins are colourless.
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