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ETHER, (C2H5)2O

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Originally appearing in Volume V09, Page 807 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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ETHER, (C2H5)2O , the See also:Aether of See also:pharmacy, a colourless, volatile, highly inflammable liquid, of specific gravity o.736 at o°, boiling-point 350 C., and freezing-point-r17°.4 C. (K. Olszewski). It has a strong and characteristic odour, and a hot sweetish See also:taste, is soluble in ten parts of See also:water, and in all proportions in See also:alcohol, and dissolves See also:bromine,- See also:iodine, and, in small quantities, See also:sulphur and See also:phosphorus, also the volatile See also:oils, most fatty and resinous substances, See also:guncotton, caoutchouc and certain of the See also:vegetable alkaloids. The vapour mixed with See also:oxygen or See also:air is violently explosive. The making of ether by the See also:action of sulphuric See also:acid on alcohol was known in about the 13th See also:century; and later See also:Basil See also:Valentine and See also:Valerius See also:Cordus described its preparation and properties. The name ether appears to have been applied to the See also:drug only since the times of Frobenius, who in 1730 termed it spiritus aethereus or vini vitriolatus. It - was considered to be a sulphur See also:compound, hence its name sulphur ether; this See also:idea was proved to be erroneous by Valentine See also:Rose in about 1800. Ether is manufactured by the See also:distillation of 5 parts of 90 % alcohol with g parts of concentrated sulphuric acid at a temperature of 14o°-145° C., a See also:constant stream of alcohol being caused to flow into the mixture during the operation. The distillate is purified by treatment with See also:lime and See also:calcium chloride, and subsequent distillation. The mechanism of this reaction was explained by A. See also:Williamson in 185o.

For other methods of preparation see See also:

ETHERS.' ' See also J. v. See also:Liebig, See also:Ann. Chem. Pharm., 1837, 23, p. 39; 1839, 30, p. 129; E. See also:Mitscherlich, Pogg. Ann., 1836, 31, p. 273;1841, 53, p. 95; A. W. Williamson, Phil.

Mag., 185o (3), 37, p. 350. The presence of so small a quantity as 1% of alcohol may be detected in ether by the See also:

colour imparted to it by See also:aniline See also:violet; if water or acetic acid be See also:present, the ether must be shaken with anhydrous See also:potassium carbonate before the application of the test. When heated with See also:zinc dust, it yields See also:ethylene and water. Chromic acid oxidizes it to acetic acid and See also:ozone oxidizes it to See also:ethyl peroxide. In contact with hydriodic acid See also:gas at o° C., it forms ethyl iodide (R. D. See also:Silva, Ber., 1875, 8, p. 903), and with water and a little sulphuric acid at 18o° C., it yields alcohol (E. Erlenmeyer, Zeit. f. chemie, 1868,'p. 343)• It forms crystalline compounds with bromine and with many metallic salts. See also:Medicine.—For the anaesthetic properties of ether see See also:ANAESTHESIA.

Applied externally, ether evaporates very rapidly, producing such intense See also:

cold as to cause marked See also:local anaesthesia. For this purpose it is best applied as a See also:fine spray, but ethyl chloride is generally found more efficient and produces less subsequent discomfort. It See also:aids the absorption of fats and may be used with See also:cod See also:liver oil when the latter is administered by the skin. If it be rubbed in or evaporation be prevented, it acts, like alcohol and See also:chloroform, as an irritant. Ten to twenty minims of ether, subcutaneously injected, constitute perhaps the most rapid and powerful cardiac stimulant known, and are often employed for this purpose in cases of See also:syncope under anaesthesia. Taken internally, ether acts in many respects similarly to alcohol and chloroform, but its stimulant action on the See also:heart is much more marked, being exerted both reflexly from the See also:stomach and directly after its rapid absorption. Ether is thus the type of a rapidly diffusible stimulant. It is also useful in relieving the paroxysms of See also:asthma. The dose for repeated See also:administration is from 10 to 30 minims and for a single administration up to a drachm. Chronic Poisoning.—A dose of a little more than a drachm (a teaspoonful) will produce a See also:condition of inebriation lasting for one-See also:half to one See also:hour, but the dose must soon be greatly in-creased. The after-effects are, if anything, rather pleasant, and the See also:habit of ether drinking is certainly not so injurious as alcohol-ism. The See also:principal symptons of chronic ether-drinking are a weakening of the activity of the See also:special senses, and notably sight and See also:hearing, a lowering of the intelligence and a degree of See also:general paresis (partial See also:paralysis) of See also:motion.

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ETHEREDGE [or ETHEREGE], SIR GEORGE (c. 1635-1691)