Diethyl ether

Diethyl ether is a volatile, highly flammable organic compound with formula C₄H₁₀O. Its solvent properties and anesthetic effects made it useful in laboratories and medicine.

Ether: An organic compound in which an oxygen atom connects two carbon-containing groups. Diethyl ether is the simplest symmetrical ether with two ethyl groups.
Anesthesia: The controlled reduction or loss of sensation, awareness, or both for medical procedures. Diethyl ether was among the first agents used to produce surgical anesthesia.
Crawford Long: An American physician who used ether anesthesia in surgery in 1842. Long's early operation with ether preceded its widely publicized adoption.
Diisopropyl ether: A volatile ether with two isopropyl groups, used mainly as an organic solvent. It shares ether's solvent uses but differs in structure and physical properties.
Intermolecular force: An attraction or repulsion between neighboring molecules that affects physical properties. Weak intermolecular attractions help explain its low boiling point and volatility.
Ether anesthesia: The use of diethyl ether vapor to induce and maintain general anesthesia. This is the specific medical application that made ether historically influential.
William T. G. Morton: An American dentist associated with the public demonstration of ether anesthesia in 1846. Morton's demonstration helped establish ether anesthesia before a medical audience.
Tetrahydrofuran: A cyclic ether widely used as a solvent in organic chemistry and polymer production. Unlike diethyl ether, it is water-miscible and has a substantially higher boiling point.
Vapor pressure: The pressure exerted by a vapor in equilibrium with its liquid at a given temperature. Its high vapor pressure makes diethyl ether evaporate readily and form flammable vapor.
Liquid-liquid extraction: A separation method that distributes compounds between two immiscible liquid phases. Ether's immiscibility with water and solubility for organic compounds make it useful for extraction.

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