ethene

Colourless, flammable gas, the first member of the alkene series of hydrocarbons. It is the most widely used synthetic organic chemical and is used to produce the plastics polythene (polyethylene), polychloroethene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It is obtained from natural gas or coal gas, or by the dehydration of ethanol.

Ethene is produced during plant metabolism and is classified as a plant hormone. It is important in the ripening of fruit and in abscission. Small amounts of ethene are often added to the air surrounding fruit to artificially promote ripening. Tomato and marigold plants show distorted growth in concentrations as low as 0.01 parts per million. Plants also release ethene when they are under stress. German physicists invented a device in 1997 that measures stress levels in plants by measuring surrounding ethene levels.