Quote:I know about the dangers and properties of ether, certainly I wouldn't have used in next to an open flame.
Remember, it's not just open flames we're talking about, e.g.
here:
Quote:C-1.6 Sparks
You should eliminate the possibility of sparks of all kinds in the work area. Electric sparks may come from switches. relay contacts, or thermostatic devices; the latter are found in heaters, hot plates, and refrigerators. For this reason these devices, whenever possible, should be sealed so that solvent vapors cannot get in or sparks or flame get out; refrigerators used in the laboratory should be of the "explosion‑proof' type, with switches and thermostat contacts sealed or mounted outside the box. Electric sparks from electric motors can be avoided by employing induction motors for stirrers and pumps instead of series‑wound and other brush‑containing motors. Electric sparks can also arise from the buildup of "static electricity", especially in the dry indoor conditions during the winter. Avoid excessive wiping or swirling of flasks or bottles containing solvents before pouring; when dealing with more than about a liter of Class I solvents in metallic systems, ground the apparatus and the container. Sparks can arise also from metal striking metal or concrete, and, since solvent vapors are denser than air, a fire could be produced from a metal object falling onto a concrete floor or even shoe nails scraping on the concrete. This fact should be remembered if there is any spillage of solvents.
And there is, of course, the question of
autoignition temperature:
Quote:In the absence of a flame, a spark or an incandescent electric heating element, the auto‑ignition temperature is ordinarily of serious concern only with a few substances. Carbon disulfide has an auto‑ignition temperature of about 100°C and the vapors can be ignited by contact with an ordinary low‑pressure steam line; the auto‑ignition temperature for diethyl ether is 180[160]°C, low enough so that use of an electric hot plate has caused ignition. A McMaster chemistry graduate student was seriously injured when ether was ignited by a hot plate. Such liquids should be heated with a water bath or a steam bath in a hood so that vapour from the boiling liquid does not accumulate.
The autoignition temperature for lower saturated hydrocarbons is somewhat more forgiving. Just to be absolutely clear.
Finally, let's not forget
Diethyl ether peroxide, the main reason why this and a number of other ether solvents are avoided in industry.
“There is a way of manipulating matter and energy so as to produce what modern scientists call 'a field of force'. The field acts on the observer and puts him in a privileged position vis-à-vis the universe. From this position he has access to the realities which are ordinarily hidden from us by time and space, matter and energy. This is what we call the Great Work."
― Jacques Bergier, quoting Fulcanelli