Definition of "phenanthrene" []

• A colorless crystalline hydrocarbon, C14H10, obtained by fractional distillation of coal-tar oils and used in dyes, drugs, and explosives. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "To better understand the risks, Hecht's team conducted what they called a "unique" analysis, by labeling and tracking a single PAH — phenanthrene — through the bodies of 12 volunteer smokers."
• "The CVD process used phenanthrene gas to etch the tiny 8.8 micrometer USS Enterprise."
• "The propose the work as proof-of-concept, but use a very artificial data set of only 12 crystal structures benzene and eleven polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, like naphtalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, triphenylene, pyrene, perylene, and coronene."