text: An important factor influencing a substance's volatility is the strength of the interactions between its molecules. Attractive forces between molecules are what holds materials together, and materials with stronger intermolecular forces, such as most solids, are typically not very volatile. Ethanol and dimethyl ether, two chemicals with the same formula (CHO), have different volatilities due to the different interactions that occur between their molecules in the liquid phase: ethanol molecules are capable of hydrogen bonding while dimethyl ether molecules are not. The result in an overall stronger attractive force between the ethanol molecules, making it the less volatile substance of the two.