What is Amber?
[[File:Baltic amber - Coleoptera, Cleridae - Length 10 mm.JPG|thumb|250px|Baltic amber inclusion: ''Nothorhina granulicollis'' Zang, 1905 ([[Coleoptera]], [[Cerambycidae]])]] [[File:Ambre Dominique Moustique.jpg|thumb|250px|A [[mosquito]] in amber]] [[Image:Baltic-amber-Arachnida,Araneae-head.JPG|thumb|230px|Spider in Baltic amber.]] [[File:Gouttes-drops-resine-2.jpg|thumb|right|Wood resin, the ancient source of amber]] [[File:Amber Bernstein many dark stones.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Cloudy unpolished amber, artificially illuminated]] '''Amber''' is the common name for [[fossil]] [[resin]]. It occurs in different colours, and is widely used for making [[jewellery]] and other ornaments. Although not [[mineralization|mineralized]], amber is sometimes considered as a [[gemstone]]. Most of the world's amber is in the range of 30–90 million years old. Semi-fossilized resin or sub-fossil amber is called [[copal]]. Baltic amber was called 'Freya's tears' by the [[Norse]] and the 'tears of the Heliades' by the ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]]. Amber consists of several [[resin]]ous bodies that can mostly dissolve in [[ethanol|alcohol]], [[diethyl ether|ether]] and [[chloroform]], associated with a [[Bitumen|bituminous]] substance that does not dissolve. == Amber in geology == Amber is formed from resin coming out of certain trees. It is not tree sap or gum. The resin soon becomes sticky, and later fossilises as amber. The amber can look different depending on its origin, and its later geological history. To end up as amber, the starting resin must resist decay. Many trees produce resin, but usually it is broken down by physical and biological process. Exposure to weather tends to disintegrate resin, assisted by [[microorganisms]] such as [[bacteria]] and [[fungi]]. For resin to survive long enough to become amber, it must resist such forces, or be produced under conditions that exclude them.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/24247184|title=Life in amber|last=Poinar|first=George O.|date=1992|publisher