What is the difference between wood alcohol (methanol), rubbing alcohol (isopropyl), and grain alcohol (ethanol)?
What chemical substance can be used to finish furniture, disinfect a cut, and embarrass you in front of that “special” person you ve been secretly admiring? Alcohol, of course! How could three substances that fall into the same category of chemistry be popular on college campuses and in your grandmother s medicine cabinet? Isopropyl, methanol, and ethanol, while all called alcohol, vary greatly in terms of usage and each has a distinct chemical formula. When one talks about “alcohol,” one is probably referring to ethanol, or drinking alcohol. Often, people simply call it alcohol (even though it is only one of many kinds) because it is found in beverages from beer to vodka. Ethanol is also called ethyl alcohol, or more familiarly, grain alcohol (Everclear, the main ingredient in that fraternity house staple, gelatin shots, is a popular example). The chemical formula for ethanol is C2H6O. It is a colorless and highly flammable liquid that is either made synthetically or collected from fe
