Acetylene – Acetone
- PostEagle
- September 23, 2015
- Word Etymology
- 0 Comments
The words for today are ACETYLENE and ACETONE. Each is flammable and is used for cutting.
ACETYLENE is an explosive flammable gas used to cut metal.
ACETONE is a highly flammable liquid used as a solvent in making plastics.
Over 2200 years ago HANNIBAL cut through walls of ice in crossing the ALPS by using ACETUM. ACETUM is the Latin word for – SOUR WINE, VINEGAR. HANNIBAL would first build a fire against the ice wall and then pour vinegar on it. He was able to cut a large path through these barriers. Augustus was the Roman emperor during the time of Jesus Christ. He had formed a professional military medical corps to handle the high levels of injury suffered during the many wars. This group advanced the study and practice of medicine to a level not seen again until late in the nineteenth century. An ancient Roman doctor’s tool kit would include forceps, scalpels, catheters and even “arrow extractors”. Ancient Roman surgeons had a wide range of pain killers and sedatives to help in surgery, including extracts of opium, poppies (morphine) and of henbane seeds (scopolamine). They boiled their tools before use and would not reuse the same tool on a patient before reboiling. Wounds were washed with ‘ACETUM’ which is actually a better antiseptic than Joseph Lister’s carbolic acid in the 1860’s.