Definitions

methyl

methyl

[meth-uhl]
methyl, CH3, organic free radical or alkyl group derived from methane by the removal of one hydrogen atom.
or methyl alcohol or wood alcohol

Simplest of the alcohols, chemical formula CH3OH. Once produced by destructive distillation of wood, it is now usually made from the methane in natural gas. Methanol is an important industrial material; its derivatives are used in great quantities for making a vast number of compounds, among them many important synthetic dyes, resins, drugs, and perfumes. It is also used in automotive antifreezes, in rocket fuels, and as a solvent. It is flammable and explosive. A clean-burning fuel, it may substitute (at least in part) for gasoline. It is also used for denaturation of ethanol. A violent poison, it causes blindness and eventually death when drunk.

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Demeton-S-methyl is an organic compound with the molecular formula C6H15O3PS2. It is used as an acaricide and insecticide; more specifically it is an organothiophosphate acaricide and an aliphatic organothiophosphate insecticide, respectively. It is flammable and poisonous to humans.

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