Talk:Ether

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1 How does it smell?
2 should this be a disambig page?
3 Williamson ether synthesis
4 Space theory
5 What came first?
6 As a Drug

[edit] How does it smell?

In the sidebar, furan is shown as an aromatic compound that is not an ether. Furan is the prototypical aromatic ether and is the unsaturated form of THF (hence tetrahydrofuran)

The funny thing about the Michaelson-Morely experiment is that Einstein was already formulating relativity before he knew anything about it.

Also, wasn't the root of the english word "ether" the Latin word "aether", which means "air" as in "the sky".

You sure aether doesn't refer specifically to the upper air, which corresponds to the fifth element that fills all of space? Its Greek equivalent does, at least.

Despite their comparably attenuated reactivity, ethers can act as Lewis acids (see Acid-base reaction theories). For instance, diethyl ether forms a complex with boron compounds, such as boron trifluoride etherate, F₃B:O(CH₂CH₃)₂

Wouldn't the ether be the Lewis base here? Josh Cherry 00:59, 23 Oct 2003 (UTC)

The article states that the "x y ether" nomenclature is official IUPAC nomenclature; I don't want to edit the article as I may be wrong, but I'm sure that I was taught (at degree level) that this was trivial nomenclature and the only IUPAC nomenclature was the "x-oxy-y" type, such as "methoxyethane" - please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm going to do a bit of research and find out, and possibly edit the article if I'm right - ta :) edd 08:33, 5 Jul 2004 (UTC)

[edit] should this be a disambig page?

what do people think? a discussion of diethly ether belongs on a separate page to discussion of ether's in general... jsut a thought... Erich 06:38, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Williamson ether synthesis

The equation given for the Williamson ether synthesis shows an alkyl halide as a reactant, but what follows gives sulfonate esters as an example of a leaving group. Either the equation is not general enough or this example is incorrect. Josh Cherry 15:53, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Space theory

Should some mention be made of early astronomical/astrological claims of space consisting of heavenly bodies suspended in "ether?" 153.104.16.114 17:29, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] What came first?

If the known chemical was named after the ancient concept of "ether" or "aether", being what fills the void, or the universal solvent, then shouldn't this be the main entry for the word "ether"? All other entries may branch from this one. The article makes no mention of the ethymology of the chemical. Odraxir 00:17, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

The problem is that most of the article is relevant to chemistry alone and to include every association with "ether" will make it confusing to read. As wil alcohol , maybe a "Chemistry of.." page is better and to help produce a whole new specialist chemical section.