Perfluoroethane

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A colorless, odorless gas composed of two carbon atoms and six fluorine atoms, used mainly as a refrigerant and in fire suppression systems
2. A chemically stable compound consisting of ethane with all hydrogen atoms replaced by fluorine, commonly employed in electronics cooling and inert gas applications
3. A fluorinated hydrocarbon gas featuring a fully fluorinated ethane backbone, valued for its nonflammability and low chemical reactivity in industrial uses

Etymology: Perfluoroethane is a modern chemical coinage, built from the prefix "per-", a chemistry term meaning a compound in which every hydrogen has been replaced, and "fluoro-", from fluorine, attached to "ethane". Ethane itself takes its name from "ethyl", the radical of ethyl alcohol, with the "-ane" ending used for saturated hydrocarbons. So the word is a systematic name, assembled by rule rather than handed down through speech, and its parts record exactly what the molecule is: a two-carbon ethane skeleton in which fluorine atoms have taken the place of all the hydrogens. The "per-" prefix is the key to the word's logic. Chemists used it to mark maximal substitution, so a fully fluorinated methane is "perfluoromethane" and the same pattern applies to longer chains. Because the carbon-fluorine bond is very strong, these compounds resist breakdown, which is why the word describes a stable substance and why such molecules are useful as inert coolants and insulating gases in electronics.

Synonyms: hexafluoroethane