Whisky is an awful drink. Who'd want to consume something that tasted of hydrocarbons?
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When ever did you consume anything which does not taste of hydrocarbon? I guess sure, you can drink pure water (Dihydro-oxide), eat pure salt (sodium-chloride - though not recommendable in larger quantities), but anything else you consume consist out of hydrocarbons: starch, oil, fat, fiber, fruit, vegetables, meat, ...
As defined by IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry, the classifications for hydrocarbons are:
- Saturated hydrocarbons are the simplest of the hydrocarbon species. They are composed entirely of single bonds and are saturated with hydrogen. The formula for acyclic saturated hydrocarbons (i.e., alkanes) is CnH2n+2.[1]:623 The most general form of saturated hydrocarbons is CnH2n+2(1-r), where r is the number of rings. Those with exactly one ring are the cycloalkanes. Saturated hydrocarbons are the basis of petroleum fuels and are found as either linear or branched species. Substitution reaction is their characteristics property (like chlorination reaction to form chloroform). Hydrocarbons with the same molecular formula but different structural formulae are called structural isomers.[1]:625 As given in the example of 3-methylhexane and its higher homologues, branched hydrocarbons can be chiral.[1]:627 Chiral saturated hydrocarbons constitute the side chains of biomolecules such as chlorophyll and tocopherol.[5]
- Unsaturated hydrocarbons have one or more double or triple bonds between carbon atoms. Those with double bond are called alkenes. Those with one double bond have the formula CnH2n (assuming non-cyclic structures).[1]:628 Those containing triple bonds are called alkyne. Those with one triple bond have the formula CnH2n−2.[1]:631
- Aromatic hydrocarbons, also known as arenes, are hydrocarbons that have at least one aromatic ring.
Hydrocarbons can be gases (e.g. methane and propane), liquids (e.g. hexane and benzene), waxes or low melting solids (e.g. paraffin wax and naphthalene) or polymers (e.g. polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene).