Ethanol
From RationalWiki
Ethanol is a chemical substance with the formula CH3CH2OH. That is, a two carbon alkyl chain (ethan-) attached to an alcohol functional group (-ol). Ethanol can be synthetically produced (i.e., via a controlled reaction in an artificial reactor) or produced via fermentation.
[edit] Drinkies?
It is the primary alcohol found in consumable drinks and in the bloodstreams of RationalWiki editors. While in the body, it oxidises to ethanal (ethanaldehyde) which is one of the causes of a hangover and eventually to ethanoic acid (the reason that bad wine tastes of vinegar). A related compound, methanol (CH3OH) is in fact a poison, being able to pass through the skin and eventually cause blindness and death. Ethanol, however, is mostly harmless unless taken in much larger quantities.
[edit] Fuel
Ethanol can be used as a bio-fuel. Mostly formed from corn crops and is seen as a (slightly) environmentally friendly way of producing fuel. Due to the fact that the production of bio-ethanol consumes food and other resources such as land, it has recently been viewed as a bad thing rather than the solution to the pending energy crisis.
