A three-membered ring of carbon atoms used in organic chemistry and sometimes as an anesthetic gas in medicine.
From Greek 'cyclo-' (circle, ring) + 'propane' (a three-carbon alkane). The term was coined in the late 19th century when chemists discovered this unusual three-membered ring structure.
Cyclopropane is so strained and reactive that it was actually used as an anesthetic in the early-to-mid 1900s—until it was discovered to be dangerously flammable in operating rooms, nearly burning down hospitals!
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