(C3H60) A compound of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen; it is a volatile, flammable, liquid ketone (an organic compound containing a carbon atom connected to an oxygen atom by a double bond and to two carbon atoms) used mainly as a solvent for such materials as resins, gums, oils, and cellulose.

Acetone is odorless and colorless; it evaporates rapidly. Acetone boils at 56°C (133°F). One liter of acetone weighs about 1 kg.

An important use for acetone is to stabilize acetylene gas. The safe, practical use of acetylene gas for welding and other applications would not be possible without acetone.  Compressed acetylene itself is highly explosive; however, it can be safely compressed and stored in high-pressure cylinders if the cylinders are lined with absorbent material soaked with acetone. As a solvent agent for acetylene gas, acetone has an absorptive capacity of 25 volumes of acetylene per volume of acetone per atmosphere of pressure, or about 420 volumes of acetylene at 1724 kPa (250 psi) pressure.

Another important feature of the acetone-acetylene solution is that the exothermic properties of the acetone counteract the endothermic properties of the acetylene; consequently, the acetone-acetylene solution is, to a certain extent, immune from a complete dissociation in case an ignition or explosion is introduced into it.

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