hydrocarbons

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Chemical compounds whose main feature is a long chain of carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen atoms. Hydrocarbons are organic molecules (see also organic molecule).

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notes for hydrocarbons

Many hydrocarbons are used as fuels. Some examples of hydrocarbon fuels are the components of gasoline; methane, which is the main ingredient of natural gas; and some components of wood.

Words nearby hydrocarbons

hydrobromic, hydrobromic acid, hydrobromide, hydrocalycosis, hydrocarbon, hydrocarbons, hydrocast, hydrocele, hydrocelectomy, hydrocele spinalis, hydrocellulose

How to use hydrocarbons in a sentence

Their decay proceeded without a ready supply of oxygen, producing hydrocarbons like methane instead of oxygen-bearing molecules.
Methane on Mars: Life or Just Gas?|Matthew R. Francis|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Methane (chemical formula CH4) is one of the simplest hydrocarbons, which literally means “containing hydrogen and carbon.”
Methane on Mars: Life or Just Gas?|Matthew R. Francis|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Burning charcoal generates hydrocarbons, particulate air pollution, wildfires, and carbon footprints.
P.J. O'Rourke: 27 Sensitive, Caring, Green, and Politically Committed Reasons to Ban July 4th|P. J. O’Rourke|July 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Because that global economic decline dried up demand for oil, the price of hydrocarbons fell 75 percent.
Why Putin Will Buckle Under Sanctions|Milton Ezrati|March 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Hydrocarbons are an amazingly energy-dense and affordable form of storage for the energy needed to propel a vehicle.
Would Putting a Price on Carbon Pave the Way for Electric Cars?|Megan McArdle|January 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Other volatile hydrocarbons of like origin are often confounded with eupione by chemical writers.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
The compounds derived from crude petroleum are composed principally of hydrogen and carbon and are termed “Hydrocarbons.”
Aviation Engines|Victor Wilfred Pag
The hydrocarbons consist largely of benzene, which requires three times as much air for complete combustion as acetylene does.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, July 1899|Various
Hydrocarbons are necessarily borrowed from the vegetable foods.
The Healthy Life, Vol. V, Nos. 24-28|Various
The hydrocarbons constitute a most important series of organic compounds.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley