What is the difference between ether and chloroform?

Although both were used as anesthetics, they are two entirely different chemicals. Ether, more correctly Diethyl ether is an organic compound containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. It is an extremely flammable, indeed explosive liquid which has a... read more

Chloroform,or more correctly trichloromethane, is an older anesthetic than ether and is composed of carbon, chlorine and hydrogen. It is so non-flammable it can be used as a fire extinguisher! It is no longer used as an anesthetic because the difference between a therapeutic amount and a harmful amount is very small. read more

By the time the American Civil War broke out in 1861, both ether and chloroform had been in use for several years as methods of surgical anesthesia. Though both anesthetic agents were developed around the same time (the 1840s), chloroform soon emerged as the more widely used, as it took action faster and was non-flammable. read more

The main difference between chloroform and chlorine is that chloroform exists as a liquid at room temperature and has a heavy, ether-like odor whereas chlorine exists as a yellowy-green gas and has a chocking smell. read more