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Ethers can form highly reactive (i.e. explosive) organic peroxides when exposed to oxygen, especially over a long period -- for example, when a half-empty bottl

• dekhn 5y ago
  I went back and re-read the explanation for the explosion in my lab. https://synapse.ucsf.edu/articles/2019/03/24/date-ucsf-history-ether-causes-explosion https://synapse.ucsf.edu/articles/2019/03/24/date-ucsf-histo... This is the part I knew about, since I had discussed it with the individuals involved when I moved into the office: "Well aware of the dangers of old ether, Shetlar carefully set the cans in the fume hood next to the cabinet, venting the lids. He went back to work in the cabinet and almost immediately heard a “pop” sound from the hood. However, if you read further, there are several important bits of data which instead show that it's more likely a second set of ether bottles caught on fire and ignited the one that exploded and sprayed nitric acid on Martin.
• throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  >Ethers can form highly reactive (i.e. explosive) organic peroxides when exposed to oxygen, especially over a long period -- for example, when a half-empty bottle is left on a shelf for a few years. Yeah that's the point. That's why they sell it in cans at Walmart. As long as you're already expecting to handle flammables it's not really a big deal. It's only about twice (in my observation having dicked around with both) as spicy as gasoline.