ClassicGems.net

Amber

Discovered in perhistory;   IMA status:  Not Approved

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

C₁₂H₂₀O

Succinic Acid

Molecular Weight:

180.29 gm

Composition:

Hydrogen

11.18 %

H

99.92 %

H₂O

Carbon

79.94 %

C

Oxygen

8.87 %

O

100.00 %

99.92 %

= TOTAL OXIDE

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Organic Compounds (Mineraloids)

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

9/C.01-10

9 : Organic Compounds
C : Resins and other compounds
01 : Bernstein series

Related to:

n/a

Members of Group:

n/a

Varieties:

Almashite, Ambrosine, Bacalite, Burmite, Delatynite, Duxite, Gedanite, Jaulingite, Jelinite, Kochenite, Munktenite, Muntenite, Plaffeite, Rosthornite

Synonyms:

Allingite, Ambar, Ambroid, Ambroite, Chryselectrum, Glessum, Glesum, Lyncurium, Lynx-stone, Succinite

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Amorphous

Crystal Habit:

Amorphous. Nodular - Tuberose forms having irregular protuberances over the surface. Pulverulent - Forms a loose, poorly-coherent powdery mass.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

None

Fracture:

Conchoidal

Tenacity:

Brittle

Moh's Hardness:

2.0 - 2.5

Density:

1.05 - 1.15 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

Some specimens may be Fluorescent.

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Optical Properties

Color:

Yellow, Colorless, Red, Brownish Red, Brown

Transparency:

Transparent to Translucent

Luster:

Resinous

Refractive Index:

1.54  Isotropic

Birefringence:

0.00  (Isotropic)

Dispersion:

n/a

Pleochroism:

n/a

Occurances

Geological Setting:

Nodules embedded in shales or sandstones and those that are washed up on beaches.

Common Associations:

n/a

Common Impurities:

Insects, spiders and their webs, annelids, frogs, crustaceans, bacteria, amoebae, marine microfossils, wood, leaves, pollen,flowers and fruit, hair, feathers and other small organisms

Type Locality:

Baltic Sea

Year Discovered:

Prehistoric

View mineral photos:

Amber Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Amber is a fossil resin that is a mixture of hydrocarbons, resins, succinic acid and oils. It is the fossilized resin of pine trees of the species Pinus succinifera from about 30 million years ago. In order to qualify as "amber" it is not sufficient for a tree resin merely to harden by losing its volatiles. The molecules have to polymerize, which can take millions of years, or at least 100,000 years. The oldest amber recovered dates to the Upper Carboniferous period, about 320 million years ago. After polymerization, amber becomes significantly less soluble in common organic solvents, and so will not become sticky if wetted with alcohol, acetone or gasoline. Much of the material marketed as "amber" (especially that from Colombia and Madagascar) is far too young to be considered amber, and is in reality just dried tree resin.

Amber was named from the Arabic word anbar, which was converted to Spanish as ambar and later to amber.

Amber is mostly seen as cabochons and is known for its inclusions of insects, pollen, leaves and other organic debris that were trapped in the sticky resin that oozed from pine trees millions of years ago. Faceted Amber is not rare, but is unusual.

Amber is found in many localities around the world. The most notable source may be the Baltic Sea where it washes up on shore from submerged beds. Other locations include Burma, Dominican Republic, Romania, Russia, coal seams in Wyoming, USA, and Venezuela.

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