Amber Jewelry Blog...

Tuesday 22nd May 2012 01:58:36 AM •

Science: Physics

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.

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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).
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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.

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.

Eric Weisstein's Treasure Trove of Physics - Online encyclopedia of physics terms and formulas. Full searchable, and also browsable alphabetically and by topic. Part of Eric's Treasure Troves of Science.
PhysLINK - Links to physics departments, physical societies, journals, job information, and other physics related information.
Physics 2000 - Provides an interactive opportunity to learn visually and conceptually about 20th Century science and high-tech devices.
Physics Central - A page on modern physics, such as quantum mechanics and black holes, and some mathematics.
Physics News Graphics - Diagrams (with captions) appearing in various AIP publications, sorted by category or by date.
Physics Post - A tutorial and article driven community. Votes, science news and a discussion forum.
Physics Today - The flagship publication of the American Institute of Physics (AIP). Provides feature articles, news stories, analyses, book and product reviews, a searchable job database, and obituaries.
Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme (PACS) - Hierarchical numbering scheme, developed by the American Institute of Physics, used to identify fields and sub-fields of physics.
Physics on MathPages - Articles, leaning towards a mathematical description, on a wide range of topics in physics.
Physics.org - Searchable database of physics resources from the Institute of Physics which matches a person's question, age and knowledge profile to handpicked sites. Also includes the Physics Life animation.
Physnet: The Physics Departments and Documents Network - Serves information from physics departments and institutes worldwide: departmental information, locally stored documents, authoring tools, free access journals, jobs, conferences and education material.
The Net Advance of Physics - MIT resource providing discussions at various levels of sophistication that cover all areas of physics.
TheTangentBundle Physics Project - An experimental wiki-based collection of user-contributed articles on graduate level physics topics including subjects such as string theory, quantum field theory, mathematical physics and quantum mechanics.
What You Want To Know About Physics - Summarizes in simple language, without advanced mathematics, the foundations of physics. The index gives direct access to selected topics.
World Year of Physics 2005 - International effort to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Miraculous Year (1905) and raise public awareness of physics.
Scientific American - Questions That Plague Physics - A conversation with Lawrence M. Krauss, chair of the physics department at Case Western Reserve University. [PDF] (August, 2004)