Skip to main content Skip to Search Box
Definition: benzene from Dictionary of Energy

Chemistry. a colorless, volatile, flammable, and toxic liquid aromatic hydrocarbon that freezes at 5.5°C and boils at 80°C. It is a component of products derived from coal and petroleum and is found in gasoline and other fuels. It is used in the manufacture of plastics, detergents, pesticides, and other chemicals. Benzene has been shown to be a carcinogen (cancer-causing agent).

benzene

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(bĕn'zēn, bĕnzēn'), colorless, flammable, toxic liquid with a pleasant aromatic odor. It boils at 80.1 degrees Celsius and solidifies at 5.5 degrees Celsius. Benzene is a hydrocarbon , with formula C 6 H 6 . The simplest picture of the benzene molecule, proposed by the German chemist Friedrich Kekulé (1865), is a hexagon of six carbon atoms joined by alternating single and double bonds and each bearing one hydrogen atom, symbolized by . However, modern studies have shown that the six carbon-carbon bonds are all of equal strength and distance; thus the double-bond electrons do not belong to any particular bonds but rather are delocalized about the ring, with the result that the strength of each bond is between that of a single bond and that of a double bond (see chemical bond ). Benzene is the parent substance of the aromatic compounds , a large and important group of organic compounds. It is the first of a series of hydrocarbons known as the benzene series, formed by the substitution…
2,399 results

Full text Article benzene

From Word Origins
The original name given to this hydrocarbon, by the German chemist Eilhardt Mitscherlich in 1833, was benzine . He based it on the term benzoic acid , a derivative of benzoin , the name of a resinous substance exuded by trees of the genus Styrax . This came ultimately from Arabic lubān-jāwī , …
| 202 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article benzene

From The Chambers Dictionary
the simplest of the aromatic series of hydrocarbons, discovered by Faraday in 1825, now mostly prepared by destructive distillation of coal tar, its molecule consisting of a ring or closed chain of six carbon atoms each with a hydrogen atom attached, formerly called benzine or benzol, names now used…
| 273 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article benzene

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(bĕn'zēn, bĕnzēn'), colorless, flammable, toxic liquid with a pleasant aromatic odor. It boils at 80.1 degrees Celsius and solidifies at 5.5 degrees Celsius. Benzene is a hydrocarbon , with formula C 6 H 6 . The simplest picture of the benzene molecule, proposed by the German chemist Friedrich…
| 398 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article benzene

From Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary
CAS: 71-43-2. C 6 H 6 . Structure: Complete ring showing all elements. Standard ring showing double bonds only. Simple ring without double bonds, with numerals indicating position of carbon atoms to which substituent atoms or groups may be attached (2 = ortho, 3 = meta, 4 = para). Generalized…
| 240 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Benzene: Environmental Exposure

From Encyclopedia of Environmental Health
In this article, several aspects of environmental benzene exposure are treated by using International Agencies documents and peer reviewed literature updated to 2015. Specifically, the following points are touched: Benzene production and use, emission sources, Outdoor, Indoor, and Personal Levels of…
| 8,712 words

Full text Article benzene

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Clear liquid hydrocarbon of characteristic odour, occurring in coal tar. It is used as a solvent and in the synthesis of many chemicals. The benzene molecule consists of a ring of six carbon atoms, all of which are in a single plane, and it is one of the simplest cyclic compounds . Benzene is the…
| 138 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article benzene

From The Penguin Dictionary of Science
benzene Conventional symbol for a benzene...
C 6 H 6 The archetypal ➤ aromatic organic compound. It exists as a colourless liquid. The key feature of the benzene ring is the ➤ delocalization of the double bonds (see the diagram ), which is why the older ➤…
| 100 words , 1 image
Key concepts:

Full text Article benzene

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Simplest aromatic hydrocarbon ( see aromatic compound ), parent substance of a large class of chemical compounds. It was discovered in 1825 by Michael Faraday . The chemical formula is C 6 H 6 ; August Kekule von Stradonitz in 1865 was the first to propose the correct structure, a six-membered ring…
| 141 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article benzene

From The American Heritage Student Science Dictionary
benzene ring
| 63 words , 1 image
Key concepts:

Full text Article benzene

From Philip's Encyclopedia
| 72 words
Key concepts:
Mind Map

Stack overflow
More Library Resources