An alcohol is a type of organic compound which is characterized by a hydroxyl group (OH) bonded to a carbon atom. There are several types of alcohols which vary in structure and properties depending on the arrangement of the carbon atoms.

The simplest alcohols belong to a class of compounds known aliphatics; they consist of relatively simple chains of carbon atoms. The first alcohol in this series is methyl alcohol (CH₃OH), or methanol, which consists of an hydroxyl group attached to a single carbon atom. Also known as wood alcohol, methanol is a colorless, poisonous liquid and was discovered in 1834 by French chemists Jean Baptiste Andre Dumas and Eugene-Melchior Peligot. Originally it was obtained by distilling wood in the absence of air, but it is now synthesized from carbon monoxide and hydrogen or processed from natural gas. Methanol is poisonous - ingestion of small amounts can cause...