the.com/alkene
a double-bonded molecule too greedy to share electrons evenly and too reactive to sit still
means An alkene is a hydrocarbon containing at least one carbon-carbon double bond, which makes it more reactive than its single-bonded cousins, the alkanes.
from A modern lab coinage, built from "alkyl" — itself drawn from "alcohol" — plus the suffix "-ene," which chemists reserve for compounds carrying a double bond (compare the single-bonded "-ane" of alkane and the triple-bonded "-yne" of alkyne). "Alcohol" traces back through medieval Latin to Arabic "al-kuḥl," originally the fine powder of antimony used as eye cosmetic, later stretched to mean any refined essence. So buried in this name for a restless double bond is, distantly, a word for kohl eyeliner.
- double bond
- one sigma, one pi, both itching to react
- ethylene
- simplest alkene ripens your fruit on cue
- cis vs trans
- same atoms, different shape, wildly different behavior
- plastic roots
- polymerized alkenes build most plastics on Earth
- bromine test
- decolorizes orange water, proving its hidden bond
ethylene — most produced organic compound globally, ~150 million metric tons annually
propylene — second most produced alkene, ~100 million metric tons per year
butene — industrial alkene used in gasoline production and polymer manufacturing