Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/266

* ETHER. 234 ETHERS. . H 3 S0 4 + C 2 H 5 OH = H 2 + C^HSO, Sulphuric Alcohol u ater Ethyl-hydrogen acid sulphate Ethyl-hydrogen sulphate is then converted into ether by the further action of alcohol, according to the following chemical equation : CAHS0 4 -f- C 2 H 5 OH = (C,H s ) 2 + H„SO, Ethyl-hydrogen Alcohol Ether Sulphuric sulphate acid Sulphuric acid is evidently regenerated in this transformation, and therefore the addition of acid for the production of a new quantity of ether would seem unnecessary, and ether might lie said to be manufactured by a continuous proc- ess; a given quantity of sulphuric acid being capable of transforming an indefinite amount of alcohol. In reality, however, the acid must be rejected after the operation has been carried on for a certain length of time, owing to the forma- tion of water and sulphurous acid during the process. The distillation is carried out in ap- propriate apparatus, the distilling reservoir being kept at a temperature of 140° to 150° C. At higher temperatures the alcohol is rapidly carbonized by the sulphuric acid. The crude ether thus obtained contains more or less alcohol and sulphurous acid. It is purified by shaking with a solution of lime in water, the water tak- ing up the alcohol, while the lime combines with the acid impurity. The ether is then dried with anhydrous calcium chloride and redistilled. By the use of metallic sodium ether may be rendered absolutely free from alcohol and water. Chemi- cally ether is a rather indifferent compound; with certain substances, however, it reacts very energetically; thus if brought in contact with chlorine, it is rapidly decomposed with forma- tion of aldehyde, chloral, hydrochloric acid, etc., tin' ether often taking fire during the reaction. The ether used for surgical purposes contains a small amount of water and alcohol; its specific gravity varies between 0.725 and 0.728. The preparation known as Hoffmann's anodyne is composed mainly of ether and alcohol. In medi- cine ether is sometimes used as a local anaesthetic, producing intense cold when evaporated; if in- jected subcutaneously it rapidly acts as a stimu- lant on the heart and respiration, and is there- fore highly valuable in fainting. In this coun- try it is esteemed a safer general anaesthetic than chloroform, and is therefore extensively used in surgery. Its action is similar to that of chloro- form, the highest functions of the organism being affected first, the lowest last (law of dissolu- tion). The stage of stimulation, however, lasts considerably longer than in chloroform- anaesthe- sia. The administration of el her is somewhat more difficult than that of chloroform, and it is liable to have an irritating effect mi 1 1 1 < ■ kidneys and to increase bronchitis in patients suffering from it. Within recent years, the practice has hern introduced of using a certain amount of laughing-gas immediately before inducing com- plcte anaesthesia by means of ether. In this manner certain disagreeable after-effects of ethei anaesthesia may be completely abolished. Ether i- tit.- earliest known anaesthetic and was exten- sively used in Europe before the introduction of chloroform. It was discovered probably as far back as the thirteenth century. For a long time it was supposed to contain sulphur, and hence the name sulphuric ether was applied to it. Its true composition was established by Saussure i 1807) and by Gay-Lussac (1815). Later Wil- liamson explained its formation and chemical constitution. Since the middle of the nineteenth century it has been -used in Ireland as an in- toxicant. The effects are somewhat similar to those of opium; digestion is impaired, the heart becomes irregular, and gradually nervous ex- haustion and general weakness are produced; the weakness of the body is followed by weakness of the will, hallucinations, and mental confusion. ETHTEREGE, or ETHRYGG,. George. An English classical scholar, born in Oxfordshire. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he was professor of .Greek from 1547 to 1550 and from 1554 to 1559. He also received the title of bachelor of medicine and was licensed to practice, and this profession he followed after the loss of his professorship, due to his Catholic sympathies, soon after the accession of Elizabeth. He was the author of a translation of the works of Justin Martyr, a Greek poem on the deeds of Henry VIII., and a volume of Latin poems, and set to music the Psalms of David, in the original Hebrew. ETHEREGE, Sir George (1635?-e.l690). An English dramatist, born in Oxfordshire. There is some reason to suppose that he spent a short time at Cambridge, and traveled subsequently on the Continent, where he acquired a gentleman's knowledge of French. His first comedy, The Comirnl Revenge, or Love in. a Tub, was produced in 1664, with remarkable success, and gained its author the patronage of the Court. In 1667 came She Would if tilie Could, which also achieved success and was followed after ten years by Etherege's last play, The Man of Mode, or Sir Fopling Flutter. The play owed its fa- vorable reception, in the main, to the fact that its characters were faithfully drawn representa- tions of well-known men of the day. Etherege was one of the best known libertines of the day and a boon companion of the notorious Sir Charles Sedley. After receiving knighthood he was given a diplomatic charge on the Continent, and in 1685 was English representative at Regensburg. where he aroused intense dissatis- faction by his licentious conduct. He died in Paris. Editions of his plays appeared in 1704, 1715, and 173.3. His works were edited, with an introduction, by Verity (1888). Consult an es- say 1> Gosse in Seventeenth Century .studies (London, 1895). ETHERS. An important class of carbon com- pounds related to the alcohols (q.v.). Their re- lation to the alcohols is analogous to the relation of the metallic oxides (like K 2 0) to the metallic hydroxides (like KOH). Thus, while the com- position of ordinary ether (the liquid used for anaesthesia during surgical operations) is repre- sented by the formula (C.dllJ), the composition of ordinary alcohol is C..11-OI1, While, therefore, an alcohol may be defined as a hydroxide of a hydrocarbon radicle (like methyl. CH„ or ethyl, i Mi. an ether may be defined as an oxide of such radicles. The close relationship existing between ethers and alcohols is shown by the readiness with which the former may be pre- pared from the latter. Thus ordinary ether is usually made by the action of sulphuric arid upon alcohol. (See Ether.) Another method by which ethers may be prepared is frery in- genious and serves to demonstrate clearly their chemical constitution. It consists in treating a