carbon dioxide

carbon dioxide

carbon dioxide
n.

A colorless, odorless, incombustible gas, CO₂, formed during respiration, combustion, and organic decomposition and used in food refrigeration, carbonated beverages, inert atmospheres, fire extinguishers, and aerosols. Also called carbonic acid gas.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Carbon Dioxide

Dioxide \Di*ox"ide\ (?; 104), n. [Pref. di- + oxide.] (Chem.) (a) An oxide containing two atoms of oxygen in each molecule; binoxide. (b) An oxide containing but one atom or equivalent of oxygen to two of a metal; a suboxide. [Obs.]

Carbon dioxide. See Carbonic acid, under Carbonic.

Carbon Dioxide

Carbon \Car"bon\ (k[aum]r"b[o^]n), n. [F. carbone, fr. L. carbo coal; cf. Skr. [,c]r[=a] to cook.] (Chem.) An elementary substance, not metallic in its nature, which is present in all organic compounds. Atomic weight 11.97. Symbol C. it is combustible, and forms the base of lampblack and charcoal, and enters largely into mineral coals. In its pure crystallized state it constitutes the diamond, the hardest of known substances, occuring in monometric crystals like the octahedron, etc. Another modification is graphite, or blacklead, and in this it is soft, and occurs in hexagonal prisms or tables. When united with oxygen it forms carbon dioxide, commonly called carbonic acid, or carbonic oxide, according to the proportions of the oxygen; when united with hydrogen, it forms various compounds called hydrocarbons. Compare Diamond, and Graphite.

Carbon Dioxide

n : a heavy odorless colorless gas formed during respiration and by the decomposition of organic substances; absorbed from the air by plants in photosynthesis [syn: CO, carbonic acid gas]