ether
3
9.9
- noun
- /ˈiːθər/
- Archaic
:
éter
- There is no subluminiferous ether standing as the medium in which light waves propagate.
- fluid ether
- ether theory
- matter and ether
The Einstein ether, like the original ether, defines what it means to not move.
- The Einstein ether, like the original ether, defines what it means to not move.
- So the Earth is also moving through this ether.
- This was the biggest deal because if there was no ether, then what is the medium that light traveled through?
- And at that time, people saw that there was this very mysterious medium called the ether in which light propagated at this speed.
- He envisioned them as effects on moving objects caused by their motion through the ether.
- But if you close your eyes and we're inside of ether, right, where the substance that we're inside of is ether, right?
Examples
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Many physicists in the 19th century believed that ether filled all of space and was crucial for the propagation of light.
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Historically, scientists theorized that the ether was the medium through which light traveled across the cosmos.
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This was the biggest deal because if there was no ether, then what is the medium that light traveled through?
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Just as sound cannot cross a vacuum, here thoughts do not travel in the ether.
Fiction book (1998) -
However, as time went on and objections were raised, the theory of the Ether became increasingly difficult to sustain.
Blog text (10) -
And at that time, people saw that there was this very mysterious medium called the ether in which light propagated at this speed.
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The concept of ether was once essential to understanding electromagnetic waves in physics.
Idioms
Compounds
- Archaic
A clear, very flammable liquid once used to make people sleep during surgery and to dissolve chemicals
- Specialized
A colorless, very flammable liquid once used to make patients unconscious by breathing it
- Archaic
A clear liquid that catches fire easily and was used to make people sleep during surgery and to dissolve substances
- Archaic
A clear, very flammable liquid once breathed in to make people sleep for surgery
Surface Forms
Etymology
Ether comes from the old Greek word aether, meaning 'upper air' or 'clear sky'. Because people once imagined an invisible air that filled space and carried light, scientists used ether for that imagined substance, which is why the word names the old physical idea of a space-filling medium.