Carbon monoxide

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Carbon monoxide, with the chemical formula CO, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. It is the product of the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing compounds, notably in internal-combustion engines. It has significant fuel value, burning in air with a characteristic blue flame, producing carbon dioxide. Despite its serious toxicity, CO is extremely useful and underpins much modern technology, being a precursor to a myriad of useful — even life-saving — products. It consists of one carbon atom covalently bonded to one oxygen atom. It is a gas at room temperature.