Ethanol

Ethanol /ˈɛθənɒl/, also commonly called ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol is the principal type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, produced by the fermentation of sugars by yeasts. It is a neurotoxicpsychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs used by humans. It can cause alcohol intoxication when consumed in sufficient quantity.

Ethanol is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid with a slight chemical odor. It is used as an antiseptic, a solvent, a fuel, and, due to its low freezing point, the active fluid in post-mercury thermometers. The molecule is a simple one, being an ethyl group linked to a hydroxyl group. Its structural formula, CH
3CH
2OH, is often abbreviated as C
2H
5OH, C
2H
6O or EtOH.

Etymology

Ethanol is the systematic name defined by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) for a molecule with two carbon atoms (prefix "eth-"), having a single bond between them (suffix "-ane"), and an attached functional group-OH group (suffix "-ol").