Ethylene (IUPAC name: ethene) is an organic compound, a hydrocarbon with the formula C2H4 or H2C=CH2. It is a colorless flammable gas with a faint "sweet and musky" odor when pure. It is the simplest alkene (a hydrocarbon with carbon-carbon double bonds), and the simplest unsaturated hydrocarbon after acetylene (C2H2).
Ethylene is widely used in chemical industry, and its worldwide production (over 109 million tonnes in 2006) exceeds that of any other organic compound. Ethylene is also an important natural plant hormone, used in agriculture to force the ripening of fruits.
Read more about Ethylene: Structure and Properties, Uses, Production, Ethylene As A Plant Hormone, Ligand, History