the.com/amber
fossilized tree sap that hoards ancient DNA and stops traffic at intersections worldwide
means A hard, translucent yellow-to-orange fossilized tree resin, prized as a gem and sometimes preserving trapped insects — and, by extension, the warning color between green and red on a traffic signal.
from From Old French 'ambre', borrowed from Arabic 'anbar', which originally meant ambergris — the waxy substance from sperm whales. Confusingly, medieval Europeans used the same word for two washed-up sea treasures: the whale stuff and the fossil resin. To tell them apart they spoke of 'yellow amber' for the resin and 'grey amber' (ambergris) for the whale's, and eventually 'amber' on its own settled onto the golden stone we know today.
- Age
- Some specimens are 320 million years old
- Trapped life
- Insects, feathers, even a dinosaur tail preserved inside
- It glows
- Many pieces fluoresce blue under UV light
- Static charge
- Greek word for it, elektron, named electricity
- Lost room
- Russia's jewel-paneled Amber Room vanished in WWII
baltic amber — fossilized tree resin from the baltic sea region, 44 million years old, used in jewelry since ancient times
dominican amber — younger amber from hispaniola, 15-20 million years old, famous for preserving insects and other inclusions