We often hear the word "ether" in different situations in our lives. Television and radio hosts announce: “N will now be broadcast live,” or such an inscription looms in a corner of the television screen. Ether can be bought at the pharmacy; a variety of essential oils are especially popular. If we are talking about a fragile, graceful girl, we can call her "etheric creature." In a new sense, this word appeared recently and means "crypto-fuel", a cryptocurrency mining unit.
Ether - what is it? Why is the application of the word so wide?
Ether in mythology
In ancient Greece, ether was called the upper, thinnest and most gentle layer of air. The gods dwelt there, and the peak of Olympus was filled with ether. The name Ether was carried by the Greek god, the son of Darkness and Night. According to one legend, he was the father of all winds: Borea, Note, Marshmallow and Hebrew.
Plato believed that the world was created by God from ether, and Aristotle considered ether the fifth element along with fire, water, earth and air. Numerous magical properties were attributed to the ether, by some it was attributed to the foremother.
In esotericism, ether is sometimes understood as a substance that separates the real world from the other world. Ether - what is it in different areas of human knowledge?
Ether in medicine
In medicine, ether (C 2 H 5 ) 2 is used as an anesthetic. Ether is a colorless, volatile liquid. Sometimes used as a solvent. Paracelsus first discovered the analgesic properties of ether in 1540. As an anesthesia during surgery, it was first used in 1846 to remove a submandibular tumor. Ether is a highly flammable, highly flammable liquid. Working with it requires accuracy and safety measures.
Ether in chemistry
Working on his periodic table, D.I. Mendeleev put in one of the first options and broadcast. It was located in front of hydrogen in the zero row under the number "zero". Mendeleev believed that its possible chemical properties, which so far are not amenable to research, cannot be ignored. The ether was not included in the final version of the periodic table. Ether - what is it: a real substance or a philosophical concept? There are different answers to this question.
Ether in physics
Ether was understood by ancient scientists as a substance that fills the void of the Cosmos. Lucretius Car in the poem "On the Nature of Things" wrote that ether feeds the constellations, and new stars form in the places of its condensation. There were other views on the nature of the universe. Democritus believed that the world consists of atoms and emptiness. Air according to Aristotle is the "fifth element", which is the quintessence of all things and does not change with time.
Rene Descartes introduced the concept of ether into modern physics. According to Descartes, ether fills all of world space and is a medium for the transfer of light and heat. Moreover, he does not show any resistance to material bodies when they move through it. Descartes believed that ether consists of three elements, the interaction of which explains gravity, magnetism, form different colors.
Ether was an element of wave theories of light. Classical wave optics could not do without this concept. To explain the features of light waves, various properties were attributed to ether.
Electromagnetic vibrations and ether
With the development of the theory of electromagnetic waves, it was initially assumed that they also propagate through the ether. Nikola Tesla used this theory to explain his experiments. The creator of the theory of transmission of electromagnetic waves, D. Maxwell, in his early works also applied the concept of ether, but subsequently refused it.
In 1881, a Michelson experiment was conducted to determine the speed of the Earth relative to the ether. The ether wind predicted by the theory was not found.
With the advent of quantum physics and the creation of the theory of quantum-wave dualism, it became possible to explain the observed phenomena without resorting to the ether hypothesis. What is it then in our understanding?
So historically, the concept of "ether" is associated with television and radio broadcasting. It is difficult to describe in simple words the famous Maxwell equations, which describe the physics of electromagnetic wave transmission. But it is very easy to visualize a certain substance, ether, in which waves propagate from the transmitter to the receiver, like circles on water. Therefore, this concept firmly joined the television and radio.
Video recording
In the Soviet Union, the first regular broadcasts began in 1939. Of course, the population did not have television sets, and the broadcasts were mostly experimental in nature. The development of mass broadcasting began in the late 40s - early 50s. In the early years of its existence, television channels were broadcast exclusively directly. Back in 1963, the entire planet was directly observing the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy.
There were no magnetic image recording devices. Occasionally films and chronicles recorded on film were transmitted. Television people understood what enormous prospects open up the possibility of quick "image preservation" (the so-called video recording).
The first samples of professional video recorders were created in 1955. In 1956, at a session of the Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters, a video recorder was first demonstrated. The speaker from the podium was silent, and the audience on the screen saw what he had said a minute ago. This caused a sensation, but the listeners were specialists. In the future, the use of video has revolutionized the creation of television shows. But live broadcasts remained in the arsenal of television companies to cover particularly important or particularly interesting events.
From the scene
Currently, live broadcasting is one of the most important formats of modern television and radio journalism. Live broadcasting is carried out directly from the scene. However, due to technical features (the need to transmit a signal through a number of intermediate devices), this transmission is still carried out with a certain delay.
Today, when the digital, computer revolution took place in the technical equipment of television, live broadcasts have become even more popular. Viewers like to feel like participants in events, to receive the latest information, to keep abreast of the development of situations. In 1986, a cry of horror erupted around the world in the wreck of the American Challenger spacecraft.
Live broadcasts have many features and require special training from the presenters and correspondents. These broadcasts are absolutely unpredictable and sometimes require an immediate non-standard reaction to what is happening. There are channels in which live broadcasting is the main format.
Surprise On Air
Live sometimes brings unexpected surprises. In the summer of 1957, during the broadcast of the program “Evening of Merry Questions” (the predecessor of modern KVN), the host Nikita Bogoslovsky proposed a contest for viewers. It was necessary to come to the television theater in a winter hat, a fur coat and felt boots, having a newspaper with him on December 31 last, 1956. Having a newspaper was supposed to limit the number of applicants. However, announcing this, he forgot to say about the newspaper!
As a result, a huge number of people came on the air (everyone has winter clothes), the crush began, and the broadcast had to be stopped. Until the end of the program, the viewers had the inscription "Broadcast stopped for technical reasons."
Now we often see some scandals on the screens, indecent tricks, sometimes even suicides. In 1998, HIV-infected Daniel Jones committed suicide. In 2004, Justin Timberlake accidentally exposed Janet Jackson's chest by touching her leather corset.
Time is money
Since direct broadcasts are highly rated, the cost of airtime is very high. Free broadcasting is extremely rare. Each channel sets its prices per minute, depending on the day of the week, time of day. The highest prices on weekends and prime time, when the screens have the largest number of viewers. Live broadcast is free in exceptional cases. The right to live broadcast of significant interesting events is also bought by companies for a lot of money. Thus, the right to broadcast the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang costs from 40 to 50 million dollars. Exact numbers are trade secrets.
Airtime is provided for events of special national importance. Thus, state-run channels provide candidates for the presidency of Russia with broadcasting on TV for campaigning.