Amber

Amber is the fossilized resin of ancient trees which forms through a natural polymerization of the original organic compounds. Most of the world’s amber is in the range of 30-90 million years old. Amber is known to mineralogists as succinite, from the Latin succinum, which means amber. Heating amber will soften it and eventually it will burn, a fact that has given rise to the name of bernstein, by which the Germans know amber. Rubbing amber with a cloth will make it electric, attracting bits of paper. The Greek name for amber is elektron, or the origin of our word electricity. Amber is a poor conductor of heat and feels warm to the touch (minerals feel cool). The modern name for amber is thought to come from the Arabic word, amber, meaning ambergris.