1) "In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group (-OH) is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. The general formula for a simple acyclic alcohol is CnH2n+1OH. In layman's terms, the word alcohol (Arabic: الكحل‎, "al-kuḥl") usually refers to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol or (older) spirits of wine, or to any alcoholic beverage. Ethanol is a colorless, volatile liquid with a mild odor which can be obtained by the fermentation of sugars. (Industrially, it is more commonly obtained by ethylene hydration — the reaction of ethylene with water in the presence of phosphoric acid.[1]) Ethanol is the most widely used depressant in the world, and has been for thousands of years. This sense underlies the term alcoholism (addiction to alcohol). Other alcohols are usually described with a clarifying adjective, as in isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol) or wood alcohol (methyl alcohol, or methanol). The suffix -ol appears in the "official" IUPAC chemical name of all alcohols. There are three major subsets of alcohols: primary (1°), secondary (2°) and tertiary (3°), based upon the number of carbon atoms the C-OH group's carbon (shown in red) is bonded to. Ethanol is a simple 'primary' alcohol. The simplest secondary alcohol is isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol), and a simple tertiary alcohol is tert-butyl alcohol (2-methylpropan-2-ol). The phenols with parent compound phenol have a hydroxyl group (attached to a benzene ring) just like alcohols, but differ sufficiently in properties as to warrant a separate treatment. Carbohydrates (sugars) and sugar alcohols are an important class of compounds containing multiple alcohol functional groups. For example, sucrose (common sugar) contains eight hydroxyl groups per molecule and sorbitol has six. Most of the attributes of these polyols, from nomenclature, to occurrence, use and toxicity, are sufficiently different from simple aliphatic alcohols as to require a separate treatment." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol 2) "Isopropyl alcohol (also isopropanol, iso, rubbing alcohol, or the abbreviation IPA) is a common name for propan-2-ol, a colorless, flammable chemical compound with a strong odor. It has the chemical formula C3H8O and is the simplest example of a secondary alcohol, where the alcohol carbon is attached to two other carbons. It is an isomer of propanol." "Uses Sterilizing pads typically contain a 60-70% solution of isopropanol in water. Isopropyl alcohol is also commonly used as a cleaner and solvent in industry. It is also used as a gasoline additive for dissolving water or ice in fuel lines. Although isopropanol is sometimes sold as "Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol, 70% (or 91%)" and "Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol, 99%" (harder to find but generally more useful for experimenters & cleaning uses), there is no isopropyl alcohol in the United States Pharmacopeia formula for rubbing alcohol, U.S.P. It is used as a disinfectant and is a common solvent. Isopropanol is a major ingredient in "dry-gas" fuel additive. In significant quantities, water is a problem in fuel tanks as it separates from the gasoline and can freeze in the supply lines at cold temperatures. The isopropanol does not remove the water from the gasoline. Rather, the isopropanol solubilizes the water in the gasoline. Once soluble, the water does not pose the same risk as insoluble water as it will no longer accumulate in the supply lines and freeze. Isopropanol is often sold in aerosol cans as a windscreen de-icer. It is also a very good cleaning agent and often used for cleaning electronic devices such as contact pins (like those on ROM cartridges), magnetic tape deck and floppy disk drive heads, the lenses of lasers in optical disc drives (e.g. CD, DVD) and removing thermal paste from CPUs. It is also used to clean LCD and glass computer monitor screens (at some risk to the anti-reflection coating of the screen), and used by many music shops to give second-hand or worn records newer looking sheens. It cleans white boards very well and other unwanted ink related marks. Isopropyl alcohol also works well at removing smudges, dirt, and fingerprints from cell phones and PDAs. It is effective at removing residual glue from sticky labels." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopropyl_alcohol 3) "There are two isomers of propanol. If the isomer is unstated, it is more likely to refer to propan-1-ol. Propan-1-ol (or n-propanol) — CH3CH2CH2OH Propan-2-ol (or isopropyl alcohol, or isopropanol) — (CH3)2CHOH Note that propanal (propionaldehyde), differing in spelling from propanol by a single letter, is a different compound." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propyl_alcohol 4) "Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless chemical compound, and is best known as the alcohol found in thermometers and alcoholic beverages. In common usage, it is often referred to simply as alcohol. It is a straight-chain alcohol and its molecular formula is variously represented as EtOH, CH3CH2OH, C2H5OH or as its empirical formula C2H6O (which it shares with dimethyl ether). After the use of fire, fermentation of sugar into ethanol is perhaps the earliest organic reaction known to humanity[citation needed], and the intoxicating effects of ethanol consumption have been known since ancient times. In modern times ethanol intended for industrial use has also been produced from byproducts of petroleum refining. Ethanol has widespread use as a solvent for substances intended for human contact or consumption, including scents, flavorings, colourings, and medicines. In chemistry it is both an essential solvent and a feedstock for the synthesis of other products. Ethanol has a long history as a fuel, including as a fuel for internal combustion engines." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol 5) "Denatured alcohol is ethanol which has been rendered toxic or otherwise undrinkable, and in some cases dyed. It is used for purposes such as fuel for spirit burners and camping stoves, and as a solvent. Traditionally, the main additive was 10% methanol, which gave rise to methylated spirits. There are diverse industrial uses for ethanol, and therefore literally hundreds of recipes for denaturing ethanol. Typical additives are methanol, isopropanol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, denatonium, and even (uncommonly) aviation gasoline. In the phrase denatured alcohol, denatured means "a specific property of ethanol, its usefulness as a beverage, is removed". The ethanol molecule is not denatured in the sense that its chemical structure is altered. There is no duty on denatured alcohol in most countries, making it considerably cheaper than pure ethanol. Consequently, its composition is tightly defined by government regulations which vary between countries. Different additives are used to make it both unpalatable and poisonous in such a way that is hard to rectify through distillation or other simple processes. Methanol is commonly used for this in part because it has a boiling point close to that of ethanol, and separating it by distillation is difficult, but not impossible as methanol and ethanol form a zeotropic mixture (the opposite of an azeotropic mixture). In many countries, it is also required to be dyed blue or purple with an aniline dye." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denatured_alcohol

Rubbing alcohol, these days, is synthetically produced isopropyl alcohol diluted with water to 70% strength. This is not fit for consumption. Denatured alcohol is ethanol (a.k.a. ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, etc.) that would otherwise be fit for mixing libations EXCEPT that it has been altered by the addition of a chemical that makes it particularly unfit for consumption. One common denaturant causes blindness when consumed, while another imparts a strongly bitter taste. The point of denaturing alcohol is that ethanol has usefulness outside of consumption for intoxicating effects. These other uses need not bear excise taxes for beer, wine and liquors, so it is altered to preclude its being diverted to this sort of use. Denatured ethanol is also regulated by ATF and requires extensive record-keeping and licensing for someone to use or to store the material. While the consumable ethanol is produced by fermentation of sugars, the material that is denatured for other uses is usually produced synthetically. ================== ========== jack This is a comprehensive addiction portal focusing on topics of alcohol and drug abuse. <a href="http://www.alcoholaddiction.org">http://www.alcoholaddiction.org</a>

I use ethyl-alocohol. I once heard a large scale guy say that either denatured or isopropyl actually formed a thin layer of film on his rails which acted as an insulator, didnt see it though. I just avoided it, behinind every rumor is some amount of fact. ================================================== This is a comprehensive addiction portal focusing on topics of alcohol and drug abuse. http://www.alcoholaddiction.org