the.com/double bond ethylene
Two carbons, holding hands twice, refusing to rotate — the simplest flex in chemistry.
means Ethylene (H2C=CH2) is a two-carbon molecule joined by a double bond, one sigma and one pi, making it flat, rigid, and chemically eager to react.
from Named ethylene in 1794 by Dutch chemists who made an oily liquid from it reacting with chlorine; the double bond structure was worked out a century later as bonding theory matured.
pi bondelectron cloud above and below the plane
no rotationdouble bond locks atoms flat, unlike single bonds
plant hormoneripens fruit and triggers leaf drop
most producedhighest-volume organic compound made industrially
for instance
polyethylene production — over 100 million tons made yearly from ethylene
fruit ripening — bananas release ethylene gas to trigger ripening
addition polymerization — pi bond breaks so monomers chain into plastic
steam cracking — crude oil heated to 800C to split into ethylene