What are Some Animals That Have Been Trapped in Amber?
Amber is a gold-colored substance formed from the fossilized resin or sap of trees. It is sometimes called fossil resin, and the fossilization process is primarily one of polymerization, where monomers in the resin form into longer and stabler polymer chains. Amber only forms when there are large quantities of sap available, and that sap gets trapped under the earth, leading to pressure over timescales of millions of years. Semi-fossilized amber, intermediate between the resin and amber stage, is called copal. Most amber is 30 – 100 million years old, dating all the way back to the Cretaceous Period, when dinosaurs dominated the Earth. Amber is often used as a gemstone for jewelry, although it is not a mineral. One of the reasons amber is famous are for its occasional inclusions — peculiarities in the amber that reveal a bit of trapped organic or inorganic material. Organic inclusions are the most popular, and may sell for millions of dollars to collectors. Organic inclusions are caus
Amber is a gold-colored substance formed from the fossilized resin or sap of trees. It is sometimes called fossil resin, and the fossilization process is primarily one of polymerization, where monomers in the resin form into longer and stabler polymer chains. Amber only forms when there are large quantities of sap available, and that sap gets trapped under the earth, leading to pressure over timescales of millions of years. Semi-fossilized amber, intermediate between the resin and amber stage, is called copal. Most amber is 30 — 100 million years old, dating all the way back to the Cretaceous Period, when dinosaurs dominated the Earth. Amber is often used as a gemstone for jewelry, although it is not a mineral. One of the reasons amber is famous are for its occasional inclusions — peculiarities in the amber that reveal a bit of trapped organic or inorganic material. Organic inclusions are the most popular, and may sell for millions of dollars to collectors. Organic inclusions are ca
