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Spermaceti
Spermaceti is a waxy substance found in the head cavities of the sperm whale (and, in smaller quantities, in the oils of other whales). Spermaceti is created in the spermaceti organ inside the whale's head. This organ may contain as much as of spermaceti. It has been extracted by whalers since the 17th century for human use in cosmetics, textiles, and candles. Theories for the spermaceti organ's biological function suggest that it may control buoyancy, may act as a focusing apparatus for the whale's sense of echolocation, or possibly both. There has been concrete evidence to support both theories. The buoyancy theory holds that the sperm whale is capable of heating the spermaceti, lowering its density and thus allowing the whale to float; in order for the whale to sink again, it must take water into its blowhole which cools the spermaceti into a denser solid. This claim has been called into question by recent research which indicates a lack of biological structures to support ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spermaceti Candle And Oil
Spermaceti is a waxy substance found in the head cavities of the sperm whale (and, in smaller quantities, in the oils of other whales). Spermaceti is created in the spermaceti organ inside the whale's head. This organ may contain as much as of spermaceti. It has been extracted by whalers since the 17th century for human use in cosmetics, textiles, and candles. Theories for the spermaceti organ's biological function suggest that it may control buoyancy, may act as a focusing apparatus for the whale's sense of echolocation, or possibly both. There has been concrete evidence to support both theories. The buoyancy theory holds that the sperm whale is capable of heating the spermaceti, lowering its density and thus allowing the whale to float; in order for the whale to sink again, it must take water into its blowhole which cools the spermaceti into a denser solid. This claim has been called into question by recent research which indicates a lack of biological structures to support th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sperm Whale
The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus ''Kogia''. The sperm whale is a pelagic mammal with a worldwide range, and will migrate seasonally for feeding and breeding. Females and young males live together in groups, while mature males (bulls) live solitary lives outside of the mating season. The females cooperate to protect and nurse their young. Females give birth every four to twenty years, and care for the calves for more than a decade. A mature sperm whale has few natural predators, although calves and weakened adults are sometimes killed by pods of killer whales (orcas). Mature males average in length, with the head representing up to one-third of the animal's length. Plunging to , it is the third deep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sperm Oil
Sperm oil is a waxy liquid obtained from sperm whales. It is a clear, yellowish liquid with a very faint odor. Sperm oil has a different composition from common whale oil, obtained from rendered blubber. Although it is traditionally called an "oil", it is technically a liquid wax. It is composed of wax esters with a small proportion of triglycerides, an ester of an unsaturated fatty acid, and a branched-chain fatty alcohol. ransmission Digest, Volume 26, No. 2, October 2006, "The Science of Synthetic Sperm Whale Oil"/ref> It is a natural antioxidant and heat-transfer agent. In the late-18th and early-19th centuries, sperm oil was prized as an illuminant for its bright, odorless flame and as a lubricant for its low viscosity and stability. It was supplanted in the late 19th century by less expensive alternatives such as kerosene and petroleum-based lubricants. With the 1987 international ban on whaling, sperm oil is no longer legally sold. The oil from bottlenose whales was som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spermaceti Organ
The spermaceti organ is an organ present in the heads of toothed whales of the family Physeteroidea, in particular the sperm whale. This organ contains a waxy liquid called spermaceti and is involved in the generation of sound. Description In the modern sperm whale (''Physeter macrocephalus''), it is far larger in proportion to the animal’s body than what would be explained by simple allometry. Its evolution has caused changes in basal skull morphology, which may implicate that a tradeoff was made that compromised the functionality of other features. The high investment in this organ suggests that it has some adaptive advantage, although its function isn't yet clearly understood. The spermaceti organ in sperm whales is shaped like an elongated barrel and sits on top of the whale's melon. Historically, the spermaceti oil found within it was used in a variety of products – including lamp oils, candles, and lubricants – providing the economic basis for the sperm whaling in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melon (whale)
The melon is a mass of adipose tissue found in the forehead of all toothed whales. It focuses and modulates the animal's vocalizations and acts as a sound lens. It is thus a key organ involved in communication and Animal echolocation, echolocation. Description The melon is structurally part of the nasal apparatus and comprises most of the mass tissue between the blowhole (anatomy), blowhole and the tip of the snout. The function of the melon is not completely understood, but scientists believe it is a bioacoustic component, providing a means of focusing sounds used in Animal echolocation, echolocation as well as creating a similarity between characteristics of its tissue and the surrounding water so that acoustic energy can flow out of the head and into the environment with the least loss of energy. In the past, some scientists believed that the melon had functions in deep diving and buoyancy, but these ideas have been discounted over the last 40 years and are no longer conside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Candle
A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candles is traditionally known as a chandler. Various devices have been invented to hold candles, from simple tabletop candlesticks, also known as candle holders, to elaborate candelabra and chandeliers. For a candle to burn, a heat source (commonly a naked flame from a match or lighter) is used to light the candle's wick, which melts and vaporizes a small amount of fuel (the wax). Once vaporized, the fuel combines with oxygen in the atmosphere to ignite and form a constant flame. This flame provides sufficient heat to keep the candle burning via a self-sustaining chain of events: the heat of the flame melts the top of the mass of solid fuel; the liquefied fuel then moves upward through the wick via capillary action; the liquefied fuel finally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Candlepower
Candlepower (abbreviated as cp or CP) is a unit of measurement for luminous intensity. It expresses levels of light intensity relative to the light emitted by a candle of specific size and constituents. The historical candlepower is equal to 0.981 candelas. In modern usage, ''candlepower'' is sometimes used as a synonym for ''candela''. History The term candlepower was originally defined in the United Kingdom, by the Metropolitan Gas Act 1860, as the light produced by a pure spermaceti candle that weighs and burns at a rate of . Spermaceti is a material from the heads of sperm whales, and was once used to make high-quality candles. At the time the UK established candlepower as a unit, the French standard of light was based on the illumination from a Carcel burner. They defined the unit was that illumination that emanates from a lamp burning pure colza oil (obtained from the seed of the plant '' Brassica campestris'') at a defined rate. Ten standard candles equaled about one Car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palmitic Acid
Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The Lipid Handbook, 3rd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2007. , Its chemical formula is CH3(CH2)14COOH, and its C:D (the total number of carbon atoms to the number of carbon-carbon double-bonds) is 16:0. It is a major component of the oil from the fruit of oil palms ( palm oil), making up to 44% of total fats. Meats, cheeses, butter, and other dairy products also contain palmitic acid, amounting to 50–60% of total fats. Palmitates are the salts and esters of palmitic acid. The palmitate anion is the observed form of palmitic acid at physiologic pH (7.4). Occurrence and production Palmitic acid was discovered by Edmond Frémy in 1840, in saponified palm oil. This remains the primary industrial route for its production, with the triglycerides (fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cetyl Alcohol
Cetyl alcohol , also known as hexadecan-1-ol and palmityl alcohol, is a C-16 fatty alcohol with the formula CH3(CH2)15OH. At room temperature, cetyl alcohol takes the form of a waxy white solid or flakes. The name cetyl derives from the whale oil (''cetacea'' oil, from la, cetus, lit=whale, from grc, κῆτος, translit= kētos, lit=huge fish) from which it was first isolated. Preparation Cetyl alcohol was discovered in 1817 by the French chemist Michel Chevreul when he heated spermaceti, a waxy substance obtained from sperm whale oil, with caustic potash (potassium hydroxide). Flakes of cetyl alcohol were left behind on cooling. Modern production is based around the reduction of palmitic acid, which is obtained from palm oil. Uses Cetyl alcohol is used in the cosmetic industry as an opacifier in shampoos, or as an emollient, emulsifier or thickening agent in the manufacture of skin creams and lotions. It is also employed as a lubricant for nuts and bolts, and is the act ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cetyl Palmitate
Hexadecyl hexadecanoate, also known as Cetyl palmitate, is the ester derived from hexadecanoic acid and hexadecanol. This white waxy solid is the primary constituent of spermaceti, the once highly prized wax found in the skull of sperm whales.Wilhelm Riemenschneider and Hermann M. Bolt "Esters, Organic" Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. Cetyl palmitate is a component of some solid lipid nanoparticles. Stony corals, which build the coral reefs, contain large amounts of cetyl palmitate wax in their tissues, which may function in part as an antifeedant Antifeedants are organic compounds produced by plants to inhibit attack by insects and grazing animals. These chemical compounds are typically classified as secondary metabolites in that they are not essential for the metabolism of the plant, but i ....Dobretsov, S.; Al-Wahaibi, A. S. M.; Lai, D.; Al-Sabahi, J.; Claereboudt, M.; Proksch, P.; Soussi, B., "Inhibition of Bacterial Fouling by Sof ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cerate .
Cerate, historically simple cerate, (from Latin ''cera'' "wax") is an unctuous preparation for external application, of a consistency intermediate between that of an ointment and a plaster. It can be spread upon cloth without the use of heat, but does not melt when applied to the skin. Cerate consists essentially of wax (for which resin, lead acetate or spermaceti is sometimes substituted) mixed with oil, lard, and various medicinal ingredients. The cerate of the United States Pharmacopoeia is a mixture of three parts of paraffin and seven parts of lard Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.Lard entry in the o ... References *''The Century Book of Facts'', 1901, p. 398 *''Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary'', 1913 Edition. *[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernd Würsig
Bernd Gerhard Würsig (born 9 November 1948 in Barsinghausen, Germany)"Bernd Gerhard Würsig". Marqui's Who's Who in the World. 2012. 29th Edition. is an educator and researcher who works mainly on aspects of behavior and behavioral ecology of whales and dolphins.Cahill T. 2000. Dolphins. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC. 216 pp. Much of his early work was done in close collaboration with his wife Melany Ann Würsig (born Carballeira), and they have published numerous manuscripts and books together. He is now Professor Emeritus at Texas A&M University, teaching only occasionally but still involved with graduate student and other research. He is especially active with problems and potential solutions concerning Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, ''Sousa chinensis'', in and surrounding waters of Hong Kong. Early career and education Bernd Würsig is the youngest of three sons of Gerhard and Charlotte Würsig, Silesian refugees who moved to (then) West Germany after the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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