Amber fossilized pine resin
The pine trees that produced
the resins from which amber formed grew millions
of years ago. These resins were gummy materials
mixed with oils in the trees. When the oils
became oxidized, hard resins were left. The pine
trees were eventually buried under ground or
under water, and the resins slowly changed into
irregularly shaped lumps of amber. These lumps
often contain insects or other small animals,
feathers, plant materials, etc. that were trapped
as the resins flowed from the trees, and some
even contain air bubbles. Known as inclusions,
these "imperfections" often increase
the value of a piece of amber, depending on the
rarity and completeness of the inclusion.
Amber can range in color from dark brown to a
light almost clear lemon yellow. It is very soft,
between 2-1/2 and 3 on the Mohs
Hardness Scale, and can be scratched easily.
Amber also has a low specific gravity, meaning it
can float on salt water. Because it is not
crystalline, amber is not classified as a true
mineral.
The largest supply of amber
lies in the Baltic Sea region, and it is not
uncommon for lumps of amber to be washed up on
the shores around that sea. Amber also frequently
washes up on other European beaches, and can also
be gathered directly out of the sea with nets.
Most "commercial" amber, however, is
mined from a claylike soil called blue earth,
the largest deposits of which are found in
Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Wyoming,
Russia, Romania, and Burma.
The ancient Greeks called amber
elektron, which may have come from a
Phoenician word for the sun. When rubbed with
cloth, amber becomes electrically charged and
attracts bit of straw, which is why elektron
was transformed into the word electricity.
The Mohs Hardness Scale
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