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ethylene
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Ethylene
COMMON & BRAND NAMES
Ethylene; Ethene
EFFECTS CLASSIFICATION
Anaesthetic Volatile Gas
CHEMICAL NAME
ethene
DESCRIPTION
Ethylene is a slightly sweet-smelling hydrocarbon gas with industrial, agricultural and medical uses. Its use as an anaesthetic was discontinued in the early 1970s. A theory that ethylene inhalation may have played a role in divinatory ceremonies at Delphi in Classical Greece received popular press attention in the early 2000s, yet has not been conclusively proven.
CAUTION
Ethylene is extremely flammable.
BASICS EFFECTS IMAGES HEALTH LAW DOSE CHEMISTRY
GENERAL INFORMATION #
Oracle at Delphi May Have Inhaled Ethylene
RELATED VAULTS #
Inhalants Vault
Nitrous Oxide Vault
Ether Vault
RESEARCH & JOURNAL ARTICLES #
The delphic oracle and the ethylene-intoxication hypothesis (2007)
The Delphic oracle: a multidisciplinary defense of the gaseous vent theory (2002)
Isabella Coler Herb, MD: an early leader in anesthesiology (1995)
Is ambient ethene a cancer risk factor? (1994)
Ethylene Gas (1925)
EXPERIENCES #
Submit a Report to our Experience Vaults
OFF-SITE RESOURCES
PRIMARY RESOURCES #
Chemical Safety Information
Ethylene Chemical Backgrounder
SECONDARY RESOURCES #
Ethylene Gas
Detecting ethene release from ripening fruit
RESEARCH & JOURNAL ARTICLES #
New evidence for the geological origins of the ancient Delphic oracle - Geology, 2001
MEDIA COVERAGE #
Questioning the Delphic Oracle - Scientific American, August 2003
Fumes and Visions Were Not a Myth for Oracle at Delphi - New York Times, March 19, 2002
Delphic Oracle's Lips May Have Been Loosened by Gas Vapors - National Geographic News, Aug 14, 2001