The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Ac′etoni′trile

AC′ETONI′TRILE, a colorless liquid with a pleasant ethereal odor and burning with a reddish-bordered flame. It has the formula C₂H₃N, and is isomeric with methyl cyanide. It is best prepared by distilling a mixture of potassium cyanide and potassium-methyl-sulphate. It boils at 178° F. at ordinary atmospheric pressure and has a specific gravity of 0.79. It mixes with alcohol and water.