A colourless solid compound, CaC2; tetragonal; r.d. 2.22; m.p. 450°C; b.p. 2300°C. In countries in which electricity is cheap it is manufactured by heating calcium oxide with either coke or ethyne at temperatures above 2000°C in an electric arc furnace. The crystals consist of Ca2+ and C2− ions arranged in a similar way to the ions in sodium chloride. When water is added to calcium dicarbide, the important organic raw material ethyne (acetylene) is produced: