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Amber
Amber is not a mineral, but a fossil resin. We can see it because of the chemical formula C12H20O. The
three elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen belong to the most important elements for life. The hardness is about 1.5 to 3.
This resin which we call Amber was emitted by a pine species which does not exist today. Normally Amber is yellow-brown,
but there also exist yellow and red stones. In antiquity Amber was used to make jewels. We can find Amber at the Baltic Sea
and in East Europe. Throught trade Amber comes also to South Europe and to other parts of the world. Stones with insects are
very interesting. It is because prehistoric insects went to this resin and they could not go away because it was glutinous.
It is also interesting, because we can see insects which do not exist today. Until today we make jewels of Amber.
|
Data about the Amber
| | Chemical formula |
C12H20O |
|---|
| Mineral class |
organic connections |
|---|
| Crystal system |
amorph |
|---|
| Hardness |
1.5 to 3 |
|---|
| Density |
1 g/cm3 to 1.1 g/cm3 |
|---|
| Color |
yellow, red, brown |
|---|
| Line color |
white |
|---|
| Gloss |
resin gloss |
|---|
| Break |
shell |
|---|
| Fissileness |
none |
|---|
Author and Webmaster: Lukas Czarnecki
If you have got questions about amber you can send me an e-mail under the following adress:
webmaster@hpwt.de
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Last Update: 03.11.2004