Ethene - MSN Encarta

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Ethene - the key to ripening
Ethene - a plant growth substance with the key to ripening . . . in fruits and vegetables. Have you thought why a ripe banana can speed up the ripening process when placed amongst ...
Ethene release from fruits
Detecting the release of ethene (ethylene) from ripening fruits. Ethene is an important plant growth substance, and plays an essential role in the triggering of ripening ...
bonding in ethene - sp2 hybridisation
An explanation of the bonding in ethene, including a simple view of hybridisation ... Important! You will find this much easier to understand if you first read the article about ...

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Ethene or Ethylene, the simplest member of the class of aliphatic organic compounds called alkenes, which contain at least one carbon-carbon double bond. Ethene is a colourless, slightly sweet-smelling gas of formula H₂C9CH₂. It is slightly soluble in water and is produced in commercial amounts by the cracking and fractional distillation of petroleum and from natural gas. Ethene burns with a bright flame. Because of its double bond, ethene is very reactive and readily forms many products, such as bromoethane, ethane-1,2-diol (ethylene glycol), and polyethene. In agriculture, it is used as a colouring and ripening agent for many fruits.

Ethene melts at -169.4° C (-272.9° F) and boils at -103.8° C (-154.8° F).