Home > Earth and the Environment > Minerals, Mining, and Metallurgy > Mineralogy and Crystallography

Research topic:amber

Find more facts and information on our topic page about amber

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1B1-355139.html" title="Facts and informations about amber">amber</a>

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

amber

From: Encyclopedia Britannica | Date: 2007 | Copyright information

Fossil tree resin that occurs as irregular nodules, rods, or droplike shapes in all shades of yellow with nuances of orange, brown, and, rarely, red. Milky-white opaque varieties are called bone amber. Hundreds of species of insects and plants are found as fossils in amber. Deeply coloured translucent to transparent amber is prized as gem material, and numerous ornamental carved objects and beads are made from amber. Amber has been found throughout the world, but the largest deposits occur along the shores of the Baltic Sea.For more information on amber, visit Britannica.com.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"amber." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 8 Jan. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"amber." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (January 8, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1B1-355139.html

"amber." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. Retrieved January 08, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1B1-355139.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

	Amber in nature and art. Magazine article from: The Magazine Antiques; 2/1/1996; ; 700+ words ; Over the millenia amber has had mystical connotations largely due...the touch. An exhibition that explores amber from a scientific point of view, as encasing...February 10 until September 2. Entitled Amber: Window to the Past, it is divided into... Read more
	Capturing the beauty of amber.(Metropolitan Times)(Life Times) Newspaper article from: The Washington Times; 6/4/1997; ; 700+ words ; Amber has been described by some as nature's organic jewel. But...more practical view of this fossilized form of tree resin. Amber, he says, is Mother Nature's plastic. Indeed, this usually...And before its scientific properties were ever appreciated, amber was being used to make jewelry and other ... Read more
	Amber and us. (facts about amber, uses of amber)(Brief Article) Magazine article from: Ranger Rick; 1/1/1998; 447 words ; AMBER FOR EVERYONE People everywhere seem to love amber. Polished amber is smooth and beautiful, and it feels warm next to the skin. No wonder that people have been wearing it as jewelry... Read more
	Where Does Amber Come from? Magazine article from: Science and Children; 9/1/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...apply boiling-hot saline solution-which breaks open the amber-and then remove and rehydrate the specimen. In some cases, the DNA of ancient insects preserved in amber can be compared with the DNA of modern insects from the...the code of genetic instruction has changed over time. Amber was famously ... Read more
	In search of...; Amber in Lithuania Those chunks of fossilised pine resin can cost a fortune. Not, says Anna Goldrein, if you're prepared to travel to the Baltic Newspaper article from: The Independent - London; 5/5/2002; ; 700+ words ; The sea has sent amber to the Baltic shores for thousands of years...Kaliningrad, where Russian mafiosi control the amber mines. It's a ridiculously cheap place...forested) and a cosy capital city. What is amber? According to Lithuanian folklore, Perkunas... Read more
	AMBER IS ROCK CHIC; Duran Duran star's daughter hit the catwalk aged three, now she's modelling at Scots bash.(News) Newspaper article from: Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland); 9/15/2007; 700+ words ; Byline: By Lindsay Clydesdale AMBER LE BON made her catwalk debut at the tender...stunning looks. But in her first interview, Amber, daughter of Yasmin and Duran Duran singer...Eighties fashion style as his singing, but Amber doesn't mind. I've seen lots of pictures... Read more
	Amber and the Jurassic Park connection, BUSINESS TIMES Newspaper article from: Business Times (Malaysia); 3/1/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...BEFORE Jurassic Park, I was almost totally disinterested in amber. It held no appeal, and to me was just a dull semi-precious...After reading the book and watching the movie, transparent amber began to hold some fascination and so today we are on the amber discovery trail. The best amber site I ... Read more
	Once-precious amber now can scarcely buy bread Newspaper article from: China Daily; 2/27/2003; 700+ words ; SIMOJOVEL: For the Romans, a single piece of amber was reputedly worth more than a slave, but in southern Mexico, amber miners working in medieval conditions earn...of years, cultures worldwide have prized amber, or fossilized tree sap, as a magic gem... Read more
	Ancient-air idea may not hold water. (amber may be permeable to gases) Magazine article from: Science News; 8/27/1988; 508 words ; ...questioning promising claims made last year that amber -- a fossilized resin from trees -- can...researchers assert in the Aug. 5 SCIENCE that amber is permeable to gases and therefore cannot contain air for millions of years. The term amber refers to a variety of chemically different... Read more
	A New Amber Alert: She's become a cable fixture in the Peterson case. But will she matter in the courtroom?(Amber Frey) Magazine article from: Newsweek; 6/23/2003; ; 638 words ; ...Peterson is cool and charming. He tells Amber Frey that he loves her and hopes to see her soon. Then he gets down to business. Could Amber please give him snapshots of the two taken...became a national obsession, Scott called Amber three to four times a day, NEWSWEEK has... Read more

For more facts and information, see all related premium articles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

	Amber Book article from: How Products Are Made Amber Background Although considered a gem, amber is a wholly-organic material derived from the resin of extinct...sediment, and over millions of years the resin hardened into amber. Although many amber deposits remain in ocean residue, geological... Read more
	amber Book article from: The Oxford Companion to the Earth amber Amber is a light, organic substance that is generally yellow or orange in colour...hardens and becomes incorporated into sediments, where it polymerizes to form amber; any inclusions are usually very well preserved. Amber is composed of cyclic... Read more
	amber Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition fossilized tree resin . Amber can vary in color from yellow to red to green and blue. The best commercial amber is transparent, but some varieties are cloudy. To be called amber, the resin must be several million years old; recently hardened resins... Read more
	amber Book article from: The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable amber hard translucent fossilized resin originating from extinct coniferous trees of the Tertiary period, typically yellowish in colour. It has been used in jewellery for centuries. A piece of amber was traditionally used as an amulet to attract lovers. Amber often contains the bodies of trapped insects ... Read more
	amber Book article from: The Oxford Dictionary of Art amber. A fossil resin derived from various trees, found in many...sculpture, and also perhaps as an ingredient of some varnishes . Amber is usually yellow, but many other colours are found and it...skill is needed to prevent fracturing. The golden age of amber carving was the 16th and 17th centuries, and ... Read more