aether

Classical element in philosophy and cosmology symbolising universe

Entityclassical element non-existent substanceQ381913

Also known as æther · ether · fifth element · quintessence

Instance of: classical element
, non-existent substance
Part of: five elements

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

According to ancient and medieval science, aether, also known as the fifth element or quintessence, is the material that fills the region of the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere. The concept of aether was used in several theories to explain several natural phenomena, such as the propagation of light and gravity. In the late 19th century, physicists postulated that aether permeated space, providing a medium through which light could travel in a vacuum, but evidence for the presence of such a medium was not found in the Michelson–Morley experiment, and this result has been interpreted to mean that no luminiferous aether exists.

Overview

All data

23 statements · 13% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Said to be the same as: quintessence
luminiferous aether
Different from: Eter criterion used: descriptive page and disambiguation page have to be in different items
diethyl ether
Significant event: Michelson–Morley experiment
Significant person: Plato
Aristotle
Robert Fludd
Johann II Bernoulli
Jacob Bernoulli

On other databases

10 identifiers linking aether across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

13%

externally sourced

Source last edited August 7, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). aether (Q381913). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/aether-Q381913