Amber is a mineral of organogenic origin. Stone formation is the result of the evolution of the terrestrial flora. Global warming has led to an increase in the volume of resin released by coniferous plants and a decrease in its viscosity. Hundreds of years after that, the dead wood began to decompose, and the soluble parts of its composition were washed out with water. Then the process of petrifaction was completed, the gum was covered with young deposits – and amber appeared.
According to the chemical composition – a compound of carbon (78%), oxygen (11%) and hydrogen (10%) with a small amount of impurities (1%). In other words – a mixture of hydrocarbons, resins, succinic acid and oils. In nature it occurs in the form of pieces of different sizes.
Physicochemical properties of amber
- Color – colorless, golden yellow, orange and red from light to almost black.
- Glitter – resinous.
- Transparency – from transparent to translucent.
- Singonia is amorphous.
- The hardness is 2-2.5 on the Mohs scale.
- The density is 1.05-1.3 g per cm3.
- A break is a shell.
History
Once the young Phaethon – the son of the sun god Helios – persuaded his father to give him a solar chariot. But he did not have the strength to cope with the fast horses. Approaching the earth, the chariot hit the planet with monstrous heat – and the rivers dried up, and deserts appeared, and the peaks of the mountains split in two. Seeing this, the god of lightning Jupiter was angry and threw a lightning at the rider, having thrown him from the heavenly cart. A mother and sisters cried a long time over the body of the deceased Phaethon; they grew weary from trees in the trees, and the tears that they shed – into the stones. Until now, drops fall from the branches and immediately become stony. You will look at them – you will feel the heat, but you will wait – the divine fragrance will scatter around.
Amber has been known since the Neolithic times. In ancient burial places and on places of parking of primitive people archeologists quite often find fighting amulets and various ornaments from this mineral. In some tribes, pieces of amber even performed the function of money. The Roman thinker Pliny the Elder wrote that a small amber figure was valued by his contemporaries more expensive than a young healthy slave.
The peak of the popularity of stone fell on the XVII-XVIII centuries. This period also includes the emergence of a new method of processing and application of the mineral. The amber plates were joined together by frameless technology, which made it possible to create large sculptures, massive vases, decorative vessels and candlesticks. All his skills of the master of that time were used in the construction of the Amber Room of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. In the decoration was used a huge number of decorations, decorative elements and 22 panels of natural amber.
About 90% of the world’s amber is produced on the Russian coast of the Baltic Sea. In addition to the scale, these deposits are characterized by a high concentration of mineral. On average, one cubic meter of blue earth (the so-called amber-containing strata in the Baltic’s) account for up to 2 kg of fossilized tar.
The most ancient amber, most likely, was discovered in Myanmar. This is the fossilized pitch of tropical angiosperms, which grew rapidly in those places during the Eocene, that is, about 50 million years ago. Baltic amber is much younger; it was formed from the Pinus Succifinera resin, a pine species that grew during the Oligocene, 34 to 23 million years ago. Amber, which is mined in the Dominican Republic, refers to about the same period.
Historically, the largest source of amber is the Baltic Sea. Collections of pieces of Baltic amber were found in ancient cave dwellings throughout Europe.
Interesting features and facts
Russian manufacturers account for up to 70% of the total number of products made of amber.
Science knows of cases where inside the crystals of the gem found the remains of long-extinct insects, which are almost perfectly preserved for several million years.
In Germany, amber is called Bernstein. This name arose due to the fact that burning amber produces a sweetish smell. In Ukraine, amber is known as Burstyn. And the ancient Greeks believed that the stone is similar to the star Electra, and gave it the name of the elec. Electrum is also the name of an alloy of silver and gold, which was widely used in ancient times.
Healing properties
Amber is a natural biostimulator. If you wear a stone in the neck, it stimulates the work of the arteries, cleanses the body of harmful accumulations, and gives a charge of energy and creative inspiration.
The healing properties of amber are determined by the presence in it of many useful trace elements, as well as succinct acid. Amber acid has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, relieves stress in a state of stress, stimulates the function of the intestines and kidneys, relieves anemia. Today, the possibilities of this substance are being explored to stimulate immunity and the renewal of diseased cells in the body.