Acetylene

Acetylene (systematic name: ethyne) is a hydrocarbon belonging to the group of alkynes. It is considered to be the simplest of all alkynes as it consists of two hydrogen atoms and two carbon atoms. Acetylene is an unsaturated organic compound because its four atoms are triple bonded through a covalent bond.

Acetylene was discovered in 1836 by Edmund Davy who identified it as a "new carburet of hydrogen." It was rediscovered in 1860 by French chemist Marcellin Berthelot, who coined the name "acetylene." The Nobel Laureate Gustaf Dalén was blinded by an acetylene explosion.