Editing Ethanol (section)

=== Physical properties ===
[[File:Spiritusflamme mit spektrum.png|thumb|upright|Ethanol burning with its spectrum depicted]]

Ethanol is a volatile, colorless liquid that has a slight odor. It burns with a smokeless blue flame that is not always visible in normal light. The physical properties of ethanol stem primarily from the presence of its hydroxyl group and the shortness of its carbon chain. Ethanol's hydroxyl group is able to participate in hydrogen bonding, rendering it more viscous and less volatile than less polar organic compounds of similar molecular weight, such as [[propane]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} Ethanol's [[adiabatic flame temperature]] for combustion in air is 2082&nbsp;°C or 3779&nbsp;°F.<ref name="chemss">{{cite news | url=http://www.che.msstate.edu/pdfs/fuel_cell_curriculum/me_mods/ME_Combustion_And_Air_Pollution_Module_1.doc | title=Flame Temperature Analysis and NOx Emissions for Different Fuels | publisher=Mississippi State Department of Chemical Engineering}}</ref>

Ethanol is slightly more refractive than water, having a [[refractive index]] of 1.36242 (at λ=589.3&nbsp;nm and {{convert|18.35|C|F|disp=or}}).<ref name="crc" /> The [[triple point]] for ethanol is {{nowrap|150 ± 20 [[Kelvin|K]]}}.<ref>{{Cite web | date=2023 | title=Ethanol | url=https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/inchi/InChI%3D1S/C2H6O/c1-2-3/h3H%2C2H2%2C1H3 | access-date=2023-12-23 | website=NIST Chemistry WebBook, SRD 69}}</ref>