Ethereum is an open source, public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract (scripting) functionality. It supports a modified version of Nakamoto consensus via transaction-based state transitions.
Ether is the cryptocurrency generated by the Ethereum platform as a reward to mining nodes for computations performed and is the only currency accepted in the payment of transaction fees.
If you want to dabble in the Cryptocurrency and purchase Ethereum, you can open an account on Coinbase. ---> Open Coinbase Account <---
Vitalik Buterin Says Ethereum Will Scale to 100,000 Transactions Per Second (TPS)