The next most common type of elimination reaction is α-elimination. For a carbon center, the result of α-elimination is the formation of a carbene, which includes "stable carbenes" such as carbon monoxide or isocyanides. For instance, α-elimination the elements of HCl from chloroform (CHCl3) in the presence of strong base is a classic approach for the generation of dichlorocarbene, :CCl2, as a reactive intermediate. On the other hand, formic acid undergoes α-elimination to afford the stable products water and carbon monoxide under acidic conditions. α-Elimination may also occur on a metal center, one particularly common result of which is lowering of both the metal oxidation state and coordination number by 2 units in a process known as reductive elimination. (Confusingly, in organometallic terminology, the terms "α-elimination" and "α-abstraction" refer to processes that result in formation of a metal-carbene complex. In these reactions, it is the carbon adjacent to the metal that undergoes α-elimination.)