Term Papers on Ether

Term Paper Title	Ether
# of Words	1235
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.94

Ether

Kunal Patel
U.S. History I
Mrs. Farrington

  The discovery of ether was the greatest American discovery because it helped many to overcome the pain of surgery and helped to form the Theory of Relativity.  Without ether, surgery could be one of the most feared things in the world for it would be extremely painful without any type of anesthetic and we may have not known as much as we do about physics today.
The substance ether itself was originally discovered somewhere in the 4th century B.C. by the Greeks.  However, the anesthetic properties of ether were discovered in 1842 by an American surgeon named Crawford Williamson Long.  He had discovered this while removing a tumor from the neck of a patient.  Unfortunately for him, he didn't tell anybody until 1849 while an American dentist named William Morton had proved ether's anesthetic properties in public in 1846, thus taking credit for the discovery.
Ether, usually called ethyl ether or diethyl ether, is a liquid compound that is colorless whose chemical formula is (C2H5)2O.  It extremely dangerous, being very flammable and explosive.  It has a strong, distinguishing smell and is said to be extremely sweet so that it burns.  While it is not soluble in water, ether can be mixed with most organic compounds, mainly liquids.  Ether is a very important organic solvent itself, being used all over the world in laboratories as a dissolvent for fats, oils, resins, and alkaloids.  If ether vapor and air are mixed, the result is an extremely volatile substance.  Also, if ether is partially oxidized, the result is a volatile peroxide compound.  Therefore, it is imperative that ether be properly stored and used.
Ether is still prepared by the pretty much the same organic reaction as in the 13th century when it was discovered.  This reaction is the heating of ethyl alcohol along with a powerful sulfuric acid at a temperature between 130 and 150 degrees C.  If this temperature is not maintained and is higher then ethylene gas is produced.  This raw ether must be purified by mixing it limewater,  then with the anhydrous salt calcium chloride, and finally boil it again.  Even though it contains a small amount of water, it is still fit for most of its multiple purposes, even for anesthetical use.  To create pure ether, one must boil the partially raw ether near phosphorous pentoxide or metallic sodium.
Ether's anesthetical uses are invaluable.  Its use in an operating room is probably one of the greatest things that has happened in medicine because it blocks out all pain in surgery.  For example, if a child had to have its tonsils taken out, without ether or any anesthesia, the child could go through the worst suffering in his life.  However, with the help of ether, the operation could be very smooth and painless.
Ether isn't the only substance used by an anesthesiologist.  In fact, it is only part of a balanced anesthesia.  The other drugs included in a balanced anesthesia are a narcotic, a barbiturate, and a muscle-paralyzing drug.  Also, since all muscles are paralyzed, the anesthesiologist must mechanically induce breathing in the patient.(Encyc. Amer., under anesthesia. all paragraphs above this also under same)
Ether's importance to physics was discovered by Aristotle, when trying to explain the movement of other planets around the "center of the universe".  It was used in the spheres, or "planets" in his model.(Encyc. Amer., p.???(under ether))
Ether's role in physics changed dramatically after the 17th century, the period in which the scientific revolution took place.  Descartes found it a necessity with its effectiveness in filling the crevices of large materials.  Newton thought of ether as one of the causes of gravitation and ...

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