Amber Jewelry Blog...
Saturday 19th May 2012 07:54:58 PM •Games: Game Studies
What is amber?
A common misconception with Amber is that it is tree sap; it is actually fossilised resin from ancient forests. The tree resin is exuded for a number of reasons such as protection for an injury to the tree, protection against biological or insect attack etc. The resin has then hardened and been preserved in the earths crust. Although Amber is regarded as a gem it is actually an organic substance that does not have the organic matter replaced by minerals. Pieces of amber are not cold and hard like most other gems. I have seen it described as 'organic plastic' to try and describe its weight and texture. Whilst I understand this description I think it takes away from the mystery and romance of this gem. Amber is also sometimes known as Succinite.What are the different colours?
The huge variety of colours and the uniqueness of every piece is partly what makes this gem so popular. There are over 250 identified shades. The differing shades are due to the kind of tree the resin came from, the inclusions, the age of the amber and also the area in the world it comes from. Although amber deposits can be found all over the world there are only approximately 20 where it can be commercially mined.What are Inclusions in Amber
Inclusions are small objects which become embedded in the resin prior to it hardening and are part of what makes this gem truly fascinating. It was the very inclusion of a mosquito in a piece of amber that started the fictional theme park 'Jurassic Park' and it was at this point that Amber became more popular and fascinating to a wider audience in modern day. Because of this tree resin it means that anyone can own something that is millions of years old. This is part of its charm and romance.
A variety of small animals have been caught in these resin 'traps' such as fleas, ticks, millipedes and mosquitoes as well as items like seeds, roots, spores and Lichen. What I personally find the most fascinating are the ones that got away! Pieces of amber have been found with animal paw prints and have, on rare occasions, contained a few hairs or feathers from animals that have fled from its sticky clutches. All of these inclusions have enabled scientists to build an accurate picture of some of the plants and animals these forest contained and build more accurate pictures of earth in those times.
Amber From the Baltic.
The class of organic gemstones is quite small, but includes some unusual varieties which are important in the gem trade, including pearl, coral, ivory and amber. All the organic gems are rather unusual, but none more than amber. Amber is the fossilized hardened resin of the pine tree, Pinus succinifera, formed mainly in the Eocene epoch of the Tertiary period, about 50 million years ago. Amber has been used since prehistoric times for jewelry, amulets and religious objects. The most prized pieces contain inclusions of insects or plants or pyrites.
Yellow, orange and brown are the most common colors for amber, though rare blue amber is found in the Dominican Republic. The term "amber" has entered the English language as the color that is halfway between yellow and orange. The clarity of natural amber ranges from transparent to opaque. Most pieces have bubbles or inclusions. When polished amber has a resinous luster.
Unlike most gemstones, amber is amorphous rather than crystalline. It is fairly soft, with a rating of 2-2.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. While it is durable enough to have survived for millions of years, it is sensitive to acids, caustic solutions, gasoline, alcohol and perfume. It will burn if ignited by a match, releasing an incense-like odor.
One of the most unique characteristics of amber is that it is exceptionally light. It has a density or specific gravity of only 1.05 to 1.09. Amber is so light that it will float in salt water. Amber's low density makes it difficult to imitate with glass or plastic, which have much higher densities. By way of comparison, the total volume of a 5 carat piece of amber is 2.5 times the volume of a 5 carat piece of zircon (one of the denser gem materials).
GemSelect is a leading online dealer in fine gemstones, specializing in amber, sapphire, spinel and tourmaline.
Visit our website: http://www.gemselect.com/
Yellow, orange and brown are the most common colors for amber, though rare blue amber is found in the Dominican Republic. The term "amber" has entered the English language as the color that is halfway between yellow and orange. The clarity of natural amber ranges from transparent to opaque. Most pieces have bubbles or inclusions. When polished amber has a resinous luster.
Unlike most gemstones, amber is amorphous rather than crystalline. It is fairly soft, with a rating of 2-2.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. While it is durable enough to have survived for millions of years, it is sensitive to acids, caustic solutions, gasoline, alcohol and perfume. It will burn if ignited by a match, releasing an incense-like odor.
One of the most unique characteristics of amber is that it is exceptionally light. It has a density or specific gravity of only 1.05 to 1.09. Amber is so light that it will float in salt water. Amber's low density makes it difficult to imitate with glass or plastic, which have much higher densities. By way of comparison, the total volume of a 5 carat piece of amber is 2.5 times the volume of a 5 carat piece of zircon (one of the denser gem materials).
GemSelect is a leading online dealer in fine gemstones, specializing in amber, sapphire, spinel and tourmaline.
Visit our website: http://www.gemselect.com/
German •
What has Amber been used for?
Currently Amber is enjoying a resurgence in its popularity as a gem that can make truly unique and beautiful jewelry, but has had many varied uses in the past.- The Romans used it in coins amongst other things.
- A variety of religious objects including rosaries.
- Amber attracts lint with static electricity when rubbed.
- In the past it is thought to protect the wearer from kidnapping and aging and keep evil spirits away.
- Cure for a variety of conditions such as headaches and rheumatic pain and enhance fertility.
- Amber brings the wearer good luck in a variety of situations from going to war to getting married.
- Often used as grave goods for a variety of reasons.
- Thrown into fires to release aromatic fragrances.
projektowanie stron Gdańsk | tanie domeny .com.pl | glukometry | uwolnione domeny | wolne etaty | aforyzmy | kody pocztowe | formula one | katalog stron |
Amber has always been popular and its use can be traced back to Neolithic times. The uniqueness of the gem has inspired different cultures throughout history to marvel, wonder and sometimes kill for it.
We have always loved Amber and so it was only fitting that the first web site we set-up was to sell Amber Jewelry. The article is drawn from many years of reading about amber to satisfy our curiosity. My sister and I hope this will be the first of many articles on this fascinating topic. Please visit our site http://newamberjewelry.com/home to see if you agree with us regarding the diversity of this gem.
- Artificial Life Game - Contains useful links to resources and studies of artificial life games.
- Artificial Life Game - Articles and inform information on artificial life games. [Atom]
- DFC Intelligence: Game Industry Research - Providing strategic market research and statistics on the video game, interactive entertainment and interactive broadcasting industries.
- Dungeon & Dreamers - Website for book of the same name. Includes sample chapter and individual pages for authors Brad King and John Borland.
- Elliott Avedon Museum and Archive of Games - Virtual exhibits from the University of Waterloo, Ottawa, Canada. Dedicated to research and the collection, preservation, and exhibition of games and game-related objects.
- Game Game - Ludology meets Understanding Comics. A card game about game studies by Aki Järvinen.
- Game Liberation - A game about game theory by Jesper Juul.
- Game Research - Offers news and research information on the development and social impact of computer games, and the Games Research mailing list.
- Games For Health - Sponsored by the Serious Games Initiative. Develops a community and best practices platform for the numerous games being built for health care applications.
- Globaltimoto : A Quest For Gameplay - One man, on a motorcycle, around the world, in a quest for gameplay. A mission to explore and record culture through games.
- Interactive Fiction - Annotated bibliography and several scholarly articles about interactive fiction, by Dennis G. Jerz.
- Learning Games Initiative - Examine computer games (arcade, console, PC, and handheld) in order to better understand their cultural and pedagogical import. Based in Tucson, AZ.
- Richard A. Bartle: MUD Writings Archive - A collection of fulltext research articles on MUDs by different researchers.
- Satellite Uplink - A collection of insights that put video games inside a broader cultural and aesthetic framework. E-book available for download.
- The Canadian Video Game and Computer Industry - Offers information and analysis about the video and computer game industry in Canada. Produced by a group of researchers in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario.
- Video Game Culture: Leisure and Play Preferences of BC Teens - Study examines the significance of children's video game play by surveying British Columiba teenagers' attitudes, interests, motives and behaviors toward gaming.
- Yee, Nicholas - The Norrathian Scrolls: A Study of EverQuest - Findings of a major study of EverQuest players including data on and discussions of demographics, statistics, psychology, charts, addiction, gender differences, gender bending, relationships, romance and guilds.