Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Methane \Meth"ane\, n. [See {Methal}.] (Chem.)
A light, colorless, gaseous, inflammable hydrocarbon, {CH4};
marsh gas. See {Marsh gas}, under {Gas}.
{Methane series} (Chem.), a series of saturated hydrocarbons,
of which methane is the first member and type, and
(because of their general chemical inertness and
indifference) called also the {paraffin (little affinity)
series}. The lightest members are gases, as methane,
ethane; intermediate members are liquids, as hexane,
heptane, etc. (found in benzine, kerosene, etc.); while
the highest members are white, waxy, or fatty solids, as
paraffin proper.
Source : WordNet®
methane series
n : a non-aromatic saturated hydrocarbon with the general
formula CnH(2n+2) [syn: {alkane series}, {alkane}, {paraffin}]