I love this word. It sounds so sublime, so light, so ethereal!
But this lovely word has so many meanings!
I heard about it for the first time in my school chemistry class.
Ether, in very simple terms, is a group of chemical substances that are made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
There are many types of ethers. They find use in one form or the other in a wide variety of industries ranging from petroleum to pharmaceuticals to cosmetics.
A common form of ether is diethyl ether, or simply referred to as ether.
This ether is a very pleasant smelling, colourless liquid, and is highly inflammable.
Once upon a time it was used as a general anaesthetic until non-flammable substitutes came in.
Despite its flammable nature, and its low boiling point (34.6 deg C or 94.3 deg F), in very small quantities it is used as a recreational drug, either in liquid or gaseous form. Dependance on it is called etheromania.
Ether, once upon a time, was considered to be the medium that pervades the space above our atmosphere. It was said that light travelled through ether. But there was no evidence for it, and the theory was discarded since Einstein's Theory of Relativity was able to explain conclusively all phenomena of light without reference to ether.
Still, ether is used to mean, air, or outer space, or sky, or heaven.
Ethereal as an adjective has a range of meanings: delicate, refined, not belonging to earth, out of this world, intangible, celestial, heavenly, spiritual ...
A common phrase is: ethereal beauty ... so beautiful, delicate and refined for this world!
Recently, in hip-hop parlance, ether is used colloquially as a verb to mean severely humiliate or insult another person. It's also used as a synonym for heavily criticise.
It traces its origin to the 2001 song Ether from the album Stillmatic by American rapper Nas. It was released in response to Jay-Z's 'Takeover' that was aimed at Nas.
---------
This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays.
I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.
Image credit: Pixabay
Ah yes, we studied the experiments done that were trying to locate the ether in my physics courses in college. It took them quite a while to figure out that the reason they weren't finding it was because it wasn't there.
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteExcellent Expression of all that is Ether! For something that is Effectively nothing, it has Enormous Effects!!! YAM xx
E=Eternalnot
My husband is a science guy who would adore this. Very cool topic. Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteInteresting and informative post. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteCool to read about ether which is not really taught in books never really concentrated on meaning of ethereal too!
ReplyDeleteDropping by from A to Z –
http://afshan-shaik.blogspot.com/
Whenever I heard the word ether, I immediately think of Esther, Queen of Persian king Ahasuerus.
ReplyDeleteI'd say the experience of reading this post was sublime till I reached the part about hip-hop parlance! I wouldn't have guessed its usage as a verb in a that context in a million years!
ReplyDeleteEther as a an insult is a news to me! Thanks for this enlightenment Pradeep.
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying your posts. I especially liked today's. I had no idea ether was a recreational drug. I have never taken drugs recreationally so I'm not really that knowledgeable on such things.
ReplyDeleteIm glad they don't use ether anymore in surgery knowing it's flammable.
ReplyDeleteCelebrity feuds baffle me. Most of us regular smart folk are just busy living. ~grin~ Thank you for the scientific explanations. Best wishes!
ReplyDelete