ETHER (EE-thuhr)
A
clear, colorless liquid once used as a general anesthetic
The
relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres
of celestial bodies
Common
clues: It'll knock you out; Clear sky; Sleep inducer once; Upper
regions of space; Old anesthetic; Heavens
Crossword
puzzle frequency:
3 times a year
Frequency
in English language:
23983 / 86800
News:
The
Way It Was: Modern medicine has now become a far cry from past
Video:
“Hope”
Outer Space
Diethyl
ether,
also known as ether
and ethoxyethane,
is a clear, colorless, and highly flammable liquid with a low
boiling point and a typical smell. It is used as a common solvent
and has been used as a general anesthetic.
Raymundus
Lullus
Alchemist
Raymundus Lullus is credited with discovering the compound in
1275, although there is no contemporary evidence of this. It was
first synthesized in 1540 by Valerius Cordus, who called it
"sweet
oil of vitriol"
(oleum
dulci vitrioli,
the name was due to the fact that it was originally discovered by
distilling a mixture of ethanol and sulfuric acid, then known as
vitriol), and noted some of its medicinal properties. At about
the same time, Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, better known
as Paracelsus, discovered ether's analgesic properties. The name
ether
was given to the
substance in 1730 by A.S.Frobenius.
Outer
space, sometimes simply called space, refers to the relatively
empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of
celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from
airspace (and terrestrial locations). Contrary to popular
understanding, outer space is not completely empty (i.e. a
perfect vacuum) but contains a low density of particles,
predominantly hydrogen plasma, as well as electromagnetic
radiation.
This
article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia
article "Diethyl ether"
and
“Outer
space”.
|