text:
Talk:List of hypothetical Solar System objects

Planet X
is Planet x a reall planet —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.164.239.245 (talk) 02:37, 15 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Not really. "Planet X" is a term used to describe any hypothetical object beyond Neptune whose existence is inferred through gravitational interaction. Right now there are at least two different "Planet X"-es being discussed in scientific literature, and no one knows whether either of them exist or not. If either of them were to be found, it wouldn't be Planet X anymore, but another Planet X might show up to replace it. So it's probably better thinking of Planet X as a concept, rather than as a planet. Serendi pod ous  08:16, 15 February 2008 (UTC)
 * If you consider if a planet X was discovered, then yes, planet X is real, and it's name is Pluto, but Pluto is no longer a planet. 76.66.198.46 (talk) 10:19, 14 November 2008 (UTC)
 * No, Pluto is not Planet X. Planet X was a planet large enough to perturb Neptune's orbit, except we now know that Neptune's orbit was not being perturbed, so Planet X doesn't exist.  Serendi pod ous  09:28, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

The global differences
Due to the climatic circumstances, the education on solar panels system should be extended accros the globe. So many people will have knowledge on it and start using it in order reduce the hydro-electrical system of poverty. Foster Opoku Akosah (talk) 08:55, 9 April 2019 (UTC)

Counter-Earth
I am strongly in favor of the inclusion of Counter-Earth here. While I am against including anything people come up with nowadays without any real justification (These are no hypotheses, these are wild ideas), the idea of counter-earth is 2500 years old, and thus of great historical significance. And for small object, it has even some merit due to the L3 point. Best regards, MGChecker (talk) 21:59, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

Theia
Should it still be on here? Since there aren't many other alternatives to the formation of the moon Crystallyn0 (talk) 13:48, 2 March 2023 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Mon language

The Mon language (, ; ဘာသာမန် ; Mon-Thai ဘာသာမည် []; မွန်ဘာသာစကား; ภาษามอญ; formerly known as Peguan and Talaing) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Mon people. Mon, like the related Khmer language, but unlike most languages in mainland Southeast Asia, is not tonal. The Mon language is a recognised indigenous language in Myanmar as well as a recognised indigenous language of Thailand.

Mon was classified as a "vulnerable" language in UNESCO's 2010 Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger. The Mon language has faced assimilative pressures in both Myanmar and Thailand, where many individuals of Mon descent are now monolingual in Burmese or Thai respectively. In 2007, Mon speakers were estimated to number between 800,000 and 1 million. In Myanmar, the majority of Mon speakers live in Southern Myanmar, especially Mon State, followed by Tanintharyi Region and Kayin State.

History
Mon is an important language in Burmese history. Until the 12th century, it was the lingua franca of the Irrawaddy valley—not only in the Mon kingdoms of the lower Irrawaddy but also of the upriver Pagan Kingdom of the Bamar people. Mon, especially written Mon, continued to be a prestige language even after the fall of the Mon kingdom of Thaton to Pagan in 1057. King Kyansittha of Pagan (r. 1084–1113) admired Mon culture and the Mon language was patronized. Kyansittha left many inscriptions in Mon. During this period, the Myazedi inscription, which contains identical inscriptions of a story in Pali, Pyu, Mon and Burmese on the four sides, was carved. However, after Kyansittha's death, usage of the Mon language declined among the Bamar and the Burmese language began to replace Mon and Pyu as a lingua franca.

Mon inscriptions from Dvaravati's ruins also litter Thailand. However it is not clear if the inhabitants were Mon, a mix of Mon and Malay or Khmer. Later inscriptions and kingdoms like Lavo were subservient to the Khmer Empire.

After the fall of Pagan, Mon again became the lingua franca of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom (1287–1539) in present-day Lower Myanmar, which remained a predominantly Mon-speaking region until the 1800s, by which point, the Burmese language had expanded its reach from its traditional heartland in Upper Burma into Lower Burma.

The region's language shift from Mon to Burmese has been ascribed to a combination of population displacement, intermarriage, and voluntary changes in self-identification among increasingly Mon–Burmese bilingual populations in throughout Lower Burma. The shift was certainly accelerated by the fall of the Mon-speaking Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom in 1757. Following the fall of Pegu (now Bago), many Mon-speaking refugees fled and resettled in what is now modern-day Thailand. By 1830, an estimated 90% of the population in the Lower Burma self-identified as Burmese-speaking Bamars; huge swaths of former Mon-speaking areas, from the Irrawaddy Delta upriver, spanning Bassein (now Pathein) and Rangoon (now Yangon) to Tharrawaddy, Toungoo, Prome (now Pyay) and Henzada (now Hinthada), were now Burmese-speaking. Great Britain's gradual annexation of Burma throughout the 19th century, in addition to concomitant economic and political instability in Upper Burma (e.g., increased tax burdens to the Burmese crown, British rice production incentives, etc.) also accelerated the migration of Burmese speakers from Upper Burma into Lower Burma.

The Mon language has influenced subtle grammatical differences between the varieties of Burmese spoken in Lower and Upper Burma. In Lower Burmese varieties, the verb ပေး ("to give") is colloquially used as a permissive causative marker, like in other Southeast Asian languages, but unlike in other Tibeto-Burman languages. This usage is hardly employed in Upper Burmese varieties, and is considered a sub-standard construct.

In 1972, the New Mon State Party (NMSP) established a Mon national school system, which uses Mon as a medium of instruction, in rebel-controlled areas. The system was expanded throughout Mon State following a ceasefire with the central government in 1995. Mon State now operates a multi-track education system, with schools either using Mon as the primary medium of instruction (called Mon national schools) offering modules on the Mon language in addition to the government curriculum (called "mixed schools"). In 2015, Mon language courses were launched state-wide at the elementary level. This system has been recognized as a model for mother-tongue education in the Burmese national education system, because it enables children taught in the Mon language to integrate into the mainstream Burmese education system at higher education levels.

In 2013, it was announced that the Mawlamyine-based Thanlwin Times would begin to carry news in the Mon language, becoming Myanmar's first Mon language publication since 1962.

Geographic distribution
Southern Myanmar (comprising Mon State, Kayin State, and Tanintharyi Region), from the Sittaung River in the north to Myeik (Mergui) and Kawthaung in the south, remains a traditional stronghold of the Mon language. However, in this region, Burmese is favored in urban areas, such as Mawlamyine, the capital of Mon State. In recent years, usage of Mon has declined in Myanmar, especially among the younger generation.

While Thailand is home to a sizable Mon population due to historical waves of migration, only a small proportion (estimated to range between 60,000 and 80,000) speak Mon, due to Thaification and the assimilation of Mons into mainstream Thai society. Mon speakers in Thailand are largely concentrated in Ko Kret. The remaining contingent of Thai Mon speakers are located in the provinces of Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Nakhon Pathom, as well the western provinces bordering Myanmar (Kanchanaburi, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, and Ratchaburi). A small ethnic group in Thailand speak a language closely related to Mon, called Nyah Kur. They are descendants of the Mon-speaking Dvaravati kingdom.

Dialects
Mon has three primary dialects in Burma, coming from the various regions the Mon inhabit. They are the Central (areas surrounding Mottama and Mawlamyine), Bago, and Ye dialects. All are mutually intelligible. Ethnologue lists Mon dialects as Martaban-Moulmein (Central Mon, Mon Te), Pegu (Mon Tang, Northern Mon), and Ye (Mon Nya, Southern Mon), with high mutual intelligibility among them.

Thai Mon has some differences from the Burmese dialects of Mon, but they are mutually intelligible. The Thai varieties of Mon are considered "severely endangered."

Consonants

 * 1)  is only found in Burmese loans.
 * 2) Implosives are lost in many dialects and become explosives instead.

Vocalic register
Unlike the surrounding Burmese and Thai languages, Mon is not a tonal language. As in many Mon–Khmer languages, Mon uses a vowel-phonation or vowel-register system in which the quality of voice in pronouncing the vowel is phonemic. There are two registers in Mon:

 * 1) Clear (modal) voice, analyzed by various linguists as ranging from ordinary to creaky
 * 2) Breathy voice, vowels have a distinct breathy quality

One study involving speakers of a Mon dialect in Thailand found that in some syllabic environments, words with a breathy voice vowel are significantly lower in pitch than similar words with a clear vowel counterpart. While difference in pitch in certain environments was found to be significant, there are no minimal pairs that are distinguished solely by pitch. The contrastive mechanism is the vowel phonation.

In the examples below, breathy voice is marked with under-diaeresis.

Verbs and verb phrases
Mon verbs do not inflect for person. Tense is shown through particles.

Some verbs have a morphological causative, which is most frequently a /pə-/ prefix (Pan Hla 1989:29):

Singular and plural
Mon nouns do not inflect for number. That is, they do not have separate forms for singular and plural:

{sɔt pakaw} mo̤a me̤a

apple one CL

'one apple'

{sɔt pakaw} ba me̤a

apple two CL

'two apples'

Adjectives
Adjectives follow the noun (Pan Hla p. 24):

prɛ̤a ce

woman beautiful

'beautiful woman'

Demonstratives
Demonstratives follow the noun:

ŋoa nɔʔ

day this

this day

Classifiers
Like many other Southeast Asian languages, Mon has classifiers which are used when a noun appears with a numeral. The choice of classifier depends on the semantics of the noun involved.

kaneh mo̤a tanəng

pen one CL

'one pen'

chup mo̤a tanɒm

tree one CL

'one tree'

Prepositions and prepositional phrases
Mon is a prepositional language.

doa əma

in lake

'in the lake'

Sentences
The ordinary word order for sentences in Mon is subject–verb–object, as in the following examples

Questions
Yes–no questions are shown with a final particle ha

Wh-questions show a different final particle, rau. The interrogative word does not undergo wh-movement. That is, it does not necessarily move to the front of the sentence:

title: Mon language


text:
Schist

Schist is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes or plates. This texture reflects a high content of platy minerals, such as mica, talc, chlorite, or graphite. These are often interleaved with more granular minerals, such as feldspar or quartz.

Schist typically forms during regional metamorphism accompanying the process of mountain building (orogeny) and usually reflects a medium grade of metamorphism. Schist can form from many different kinds of rocks, including sedimentary rocks such as mudstones and igneous rocks such as tuffs. Schist metamorphosed from mudstone is particularly common and is often very rich in mica (a mica schist). Where the type of the original rock (the protolith) is discernible, the schist is usually given a name reflecting its protolith, such as schistose metasandstone. Otherwise, the names of the constituent minerals will be included in the rock name, such as quartz-felspar-biotite schist.

Schist bedrock can pose a challenge for civil engineering because of its pronounced planes of weakness.

Etymology
The word schist is derived ultimately from the Greek word σχίζειν (schízein), meaning "to split", which refers to the ease with which schists can be split along the plane in which the platy minerals lie.

Definition
Before the mid-19th century, the terms slate, shale and schist were not sharply differentiated by those involved with mining. Geologists define schist as medium-grained metamorphic rock that shows well-developed schistosity. Schistosity is a thin layering of the rock produced by metamorphism (a foliation) that permits the rock to easily be split into flakes or slabs less than 5 to 10 mm thick. The mineral grains in a schist are typically from 0.25 to 2 mm in size and so are easily seen with a 10× hand lens. Typically, over half the mineral grains in a schist show a preferred orientation. Schists make up one of the three divisions of metamorphic rock by texture, with the other two divisions being gneiss, which has poorly developed schistosity and thicker layering, and granofels, which has no discernible schistosity.

Schists are defined by their texture without reference to their composition, and while most are a result of medium-grade metamorphism, they can vary greatly in mineral makeup. However, schistosity normally develops only when the rock contains abundant platy minerals, such as mica or chlorite. Grains of these minerals are strongly oriented in a preferred direction in schist, often also forming very thin parallel layers. The ease with which the rock splits along the aligned grains accounts for the schistosity. Though not a defining characteristic, schists very often contain porphyroblasts (individual crystals of unusual size) of distinctive minerals, such as garnet, staurolite, kyanite, sillimanite, or cordierite.

Because schists are a very large class of metamorphic rock, geologists will formally describe a rock as a schist only when the original type of the rock prior to metamorphism (the protolith) is unknown and its mineral content is not yet determined. Otherwise, the modifier schistose will be applied to a more precise type name, such as schistose semipelite (when the rock is known to contain moderate amounts of mica) or a schistose metasandstone (if the protolith is known to have been a sandstone). If all that is known is that the protolith was a sedimentary rock, the schist will be described as a paraschist, while if the protolith was an igneous rock, the schist will be described as an orthoschist. Mineral qualifiers are important when naming a schist. For example, a quartz-feldspar-biotite schist is a schist of uncertain protolith that contains biotite mica, feldspar, and quartz in order of apparent decreasing abundance.

Lineated schist has a strong linear fabric in a rock which otherwise has well-developed schistosity.

Formation
Schistosity is developed at elevated temperature when the rock is more strongly compressed in one direction than in other directions (nonhydrostatic stress). Nonhydrostatic stress is characteristic of regional metamorphism where mountain building is taking place (an orogenic belt). The schistosity develops perpendicular to the direction of greatest compression, also called the shortening direction, as platy minerals are rotated or recrystallized into parallel layers. While platy or elongated minerals are most obviously reoriented, even quartz or calcite may take up preferred orientations. At the microscopic level, schistosity is divided into internal schistosity, in which inclusions within porphyroblasts take a preferred orientation, and external schistosity, which is the orientation of grains in the surrounding medium-grained rock.

The composition of the rock must permit formation of abundant platy minerals. For example, the clay minerals in mudstone are metamorphosed to mica, producing a mica schist. Early stages of metamorphism convert mudstone to a very fine-grained metamorphic rock called slate, which with further metamorphism becomes fine-grained phyllite. Further recrystallization produces medium-grained mica schist. If the metamorphism proceeds further, the mica schist experiences dehydration reactions that convert platy minerals to granular minerals such as feldspars, decreasing schistosity and turning the rock into a gneiss.

Other platy minerals found in schists include chlorite, talc, and graphite. Chlorite schist is typically formed by metamorphism of ultramafic igneous rocks, as is talc schist. Talc schist also forms from metamorphosis of talc-bearing carbonate rocks formed by hydrothermal alteration. Graphite schist is uncommon but can form from metamorphosis of sedimentary beds containing abundant organic carbon. This may be of algal origin.

Metamorphosis of felsic volcanic rock, such as tuff, can produce quartz-muscovite schist.

Engineering considerations
In geotechnical engineering a schistosity plane often forms a discontinuity that may have a large influence on the mechanical behavior (strength, deformation, etc.) of rock masses in, for example, tunnel, foundation, or slope construction. A hazard may exist even in undisturbed terrain. On August 17, 1959, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake destabilized a mountain slope near Hebgen Lake, Montana, composed of schist. This caused a massive landslide that killed 26 people camping in the area.

title: Schist


text:
Talk:List of movies

 * Previous deletion debate

Requested movie articles
Some people would like to have entries on the following movies (A-Z):

 * Andre Roublev
 * Battle of Gettysburg (1913 movie)
 * Battle of Gettysburg (1956 movie)
 * The Celebration
 * Contempt (movie)
 * Corvette K-235
 * Gettysburg
 * The Hidden Fortress (stub)
 * The Jewel of the Nile
 * Land and Freedom
 * The Leopard
 * Life of Oharu
 * The Long Goodbye (movie)
 * Mirror (movie)
 * My Little Chickadee
 * The Naked City
 * Ordet
 * Sansho Dayu
 * Serial Mom (stub)
 * Shaka Zulu (movie)
 * Shampoo
 * She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
 * Silverado
 * Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August -- Stub article created
 * Tokyo Story (stub)
 * Ugetsu Monogatari
 * Vanishing Point (movie)
 * War and Peace (movie)
 * White Heat

Does anybody know if there is a list of movie soundtracks?

If not, is it worth considering?

Ianblair23 01:20, 12 May 2005 (UTC)

Moved from talk: Individual Films

Bias of selection

This page is useful right now, but it will become more and more useless as more films are added. I suppose when there are lots of film, we can separate the pages alphabetically (like Yahoo/dmoz). One fun thing is the various revisions will show the popularity of films to the wiki audience...right now the listing shows a certain particular bias towards a few genres... --The Cunctator

I don't see the bias. Perhaps you can explain? --KQ

Ummm...they're pretty much all SF, action, horror, or otherwise "guy" movies, plus a few seminal works like Citizen Kane and Wild Strawberries. It's a very nerd-male list. --The Cunctator

-

Subpages

What about doing subpages right now? --Yooden

For what? To move all the film entries on the page to subpages under Individual Films? No. --Pinkunicorn

No, one subpage per letter. --Yooden

Ah, then I follow you. Sure, go ahead. --Pinkunicorn

ooh - a subpage for Chick Movies. that's what we need. Crossing Delancy should lead the list. I vote to leave 'em here and let their enthusiasts add 'em as necessary. If (gasp) the current author-group for wikipedia overlaps with the current movie list, that's fine. --MichaelTinkler

Hey, a subpage for chick flicks would be entirely appropriate. Anyway, I have divided the alphabetical list into four pages for now, expecting further division in the future. I did it because the whole list was just too large and took too long to load. The four subpages are now reasonable in size, but as they continue to grow, they'll need further future subdivision. I tried to divide the list more or less equally. jaknouse 01:46 Apr 2, 2003 (UTC)

Numbers

I'm not sure about the 'numbers' list. I think that movies like Twelve Monkeys should go in the alphabetical list and that there should be another subpage for ones that really do start with numbers, like 2001 A Space Odyssey --Basswulf 09:08 Apr 22, 2003 (UTC)

 * Well, I thought of only doing numbers, but if someone knows of a film that starts with a number as a word, like Seven and sees the numbers page, they'd look there, then think it's not in the database. I felt it was simpler to not make the distinction between actual numbers and the numbers as words.   Paul --Rfc1394 18:20, 21 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * Is there a rule that each movie must appear only once in the entire list? Because otherwise you could list each relevant movie on the numbers list and under the appropriate letter - then you wouldn't have to worry about which one it's supposed to go under, or which one people are more likely to look for it under. —Paul A 05:47, 22 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Films by language?
Is there a list of films by language? Morwen 23:57, Dec 26, 2003 (UTC)

Films by location
List of movies set in Los Angeles, List of movies set in New York City and List of movies set in Hong Kong should be added, but I'm not sure how to lay it out. Edward 18:30, 24 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Dream
Is there a List of films that start with a dream ??? Jay 16:35, 5 Jul 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:List of movies


text:
Uraninite

Uraninite, also known as pitchblende, is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO2 but because of oxidation typically contains variable proportions of U3O8. Radioactive decay of the uranium causes the mineral to contain oxides of lead and trace amounts of helium. It may also contain thorium and rare-earth elements.

Overview
Uraninite used to be known as pitchblende (from pitch, because of its black color, and blende, from blenden meaning "to deceive", a term used by German miners to denote minerals whose density suggested metal content, but whose exploitation, at the time they were named, was either unknown or not economically feasible). The mineral has been known since at least the 15th century, from silver mines in the Ore Mountains, on the German/Czech border. The type locality is the historic mining and spa town known as Joachimsthal, the modern-day Jáchymov, on the Czech side of the mountains, where F. E. Brückmann described the mineral in 1772. Pitchblende from the Johanngeorgenstadt deposit in Germany was used by M. Klaproth in 1789 to discover the element uranium.

All uraninite minerals contain a small amount of radium as a radioactive decay product of uranium. Marie Curie used pitchblende, processing tons of it herself, as the source material for her isolation of radium in 1910.

Uraninite also always contains small amounts of the lead isotopes 206Pb and 207Pb, the end products of the decay series of the uranium isotopes 238U and 235U respectively. Small amounts of helium are also present in uraninite as a result of alpha decay. Helium was first found on Earth in cleveite, an impure radioactive variety of uraninite, after having been discovered spectroscopically in the Sun's atmosphere. The extremely rare elements technetium and promethium can be found in uraninite in very small quantities (about 200 pg/kg and 4 fg/kg respectively), produced by the spontaneous fission of uranium-238. Francium can also be found in uraninite at 1 francium atom for every 1 × 1018 uranium atoms in the ore as a result from the decay of actinium.

Occurrence
Uraninite is a major ore of uranium. Some of the highest-grade uranium ores in the world were found in the Shinkolobwe mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the initial source for the Manhattan Project) and in the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Another important source of pitchblende is at Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada, where it is found in large quantities associated with silver. It also occurs in Australia, the Czech Republic, Germany, England, Rwanda, Namibia and South Africa. In the United States, it can be found in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina and Wyoming. The geologist Charles Steen made a fortune on the production of uraninite in his Mi Vida mine in Moab, Utah. Uranium ores from the Ore Mountains (today the border between the Czech Republic and Germany) were an important supply of both the wartime German nuclear program (which failed to produce a bomb) and the Soviet nuclear program. Mining for uranium in the Ore Mountains (under the auspices of SDAG Wismut after the war) ceased after the collapse of the German Democratic Republic.

Uranium ore is generally processed close to the mine into yellowcake, which is an intermediate step in the processing of uranium.

title: Uraninite


text:
Hornblende

Hornblende is a complex inosilicate series of minerals. It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole. Hornblende minerals are common in igneous and metamorphic rocks.

The general formula is (Ca,Na)_{2–3}(Mg,Fe,Al)5(Al,Si)8O22(OH,F)2.

Physical properties
Hornblende has a hardness of 5–6, a specific gravity of 3.0 to 3.6, and is typically an opaque green, dark green, brown, or black color. It tends to form slender prismatic to bladed crystals, diamond-shaped in cross section, or is present as irregular grains or fibrous masses.

Its planes of cleavage intersect at 56° and 124° angles. Hornblende is most often confused with the pyroxene series and biotite mica, which are also dark minerals found in granite and charnockite. Pyroxenes differ in their cleavage planes, which intersect at 87° and 93°.

Hornblende is an inosilicate (chain silicate) mineral, built around double chains of silica tetrahedra. These chains extend the length of the crystal and are bonded to their neighbors by additional metal ions to form the complete crystal structure.

Compositional variances
Hornblende is part of the calcium-amphibole group of amphibole minerals. It is highly variable in composition, and includes at least five solid solution series:

 * Magnesiohornblende–ferrohornblende, Ca2[(Mg,Fe)4Al]Si7AlO22(OH)2
 * Tschermakite–ferrotschermakite, Ca2[(Mg,Fe)3Al2]Si6Al2O22(OH)2
 * Edenite–ferroedenite, NaCa2(Mg,Fe)5Si7AlO22(OH)2
 * Pargasite–ferropargasite, NaCa2[(Mg,Fe)4Al]Si6Al2O22(OH)2
 * Magnesiohastingstite–hastingsite, NaCa2[(Mg,Fe)4Fe^{3+}]Si6Al2O22(OH)2

In addition, titanium, manganese, or chromium can substitute for some of the cations and oxygen, fluorine, or chlorine for some of the hydroxide (OH). The different chemical types are almost impossible to distinguish even by optical or X-ray methods, and detailed chemical analysis using an electron microprobe is required.

There is a solid solution series between hornblende and the closely related amphibole minerals, tremolite–actinolite, at elevated temperature. A miscibility gap exists at lower temperatures, and, as a result, hornblende often contains exsolution lamellae of grunerite.

Occurrence
Hornblende is a common constituent of many igneous and metamorphic rocks such as granite, syenite, diorite, gabbro, basalt, andesite, gneiss, and schist. It crystallizes in preference to pyroxene minerals from cooler magma that is richer in silica and water.

It is the principal mineral of amphibolites, which form during medium- to high-grade metamorphism of mafic to intermediate igneous rock (igneous rocks with relative low silica content) in the presence of pore water. Much of the pore water comes from the breakdown of micas or other hydrous minerals. However, hornblende itself breaks down at very high temperatures. Hornblende alters easily to chlorite, biotite, or other mafic minerals.

A rare variety of hornblende contains less than 5% of iron oxide, is gray to white in color, and is named edenite from its locality in Edenville, Orange County, New York.

Oxyhornblende is a variety in which most of the iron has been oxidized to the ferric state, Fe^{3+}. Charge balance is preserved by the substitution of oxygen ions for hydroxide. Oxyhornblende is also typically enriched in titanium. It is found almost exclusively in volcanic rock and is sometimes called basaltic hornblende.

Etymology
The word hornblende is derived from German Horn ('horn') and blende ('deceive'), in allusion to its similar appearance to metal-bearing ore minerals.

title: Hornblende


text:
Basalt

Basalt is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Rapid-cooling, fine-grained basalt is chemically equivalent to slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro. The eruption of basalt lava is observed by geologists at about 20 volcanoes per year. Basalt is also an important rock type on other planetary bodies in the Solar System. For example, the bulk of the plains of Venus, which cover ~80% of the surface, are basaltic; the lunar maria are plains of flood-basaltic lava flows; and basalt is a common rock on the surface of Mars.

Molten basalt lava has a low viscosity due to its relatively low silica content (between 45% and 52%), resulting in rapidly moving lava flows that can spread over great areas before cooling and solidifying. Flood basalts are thick sequences of many such flows that can cover hundreds of thousands of square kilometres and constitute the most voluminous of all volcanic formations.

Basaltic magmas within Earth are thought to originate from the upper mantle. The chemistry of basalts thus provides clues to processes deep in Earth's interior.

Definition and characteristics
Basalt is composed mostly of oxides of silicon, iron, magnesium, potassium, aluminum, titanium, and calcium. Geologists classify igneous rock by its mineral content whenever possible, with the relative volume percentages of quartz (crystalline silica (SiO2)), alkali feldspar, plagioclase, and feldspathoid (QAPF) being particularly important. An aphanitic (fine-grained) igneous rock is classified as basalt when its QAPF fraction is composed of less than 10% feldspathoid and less than 20% quartz, with plagioclase making up at least 65% of its feldspar content. This places basalt in the basalt/andesite field of the QAPF diagram. Basalt is further distinguished from andesite by its silica content of under 52%.

It is often not practical to determine the mineral composition of volcanic rocks, due to their very fine grain size, and geologists then classify the rocks chemically, with the total content of alkali metal oxides and silica (TAS) being particularly important. Basalt is then defined as volcanic rock with a content of 45% to 52% silica and not more than 5% alkali metal oxides. This places basalt in the B field of the TAS diagram. Such a composition is described as mafic.

Basalt is usually dark grey to black in colour, due to its high content of augite or other dark-coloured pyroxene minerals, but can exhibit a wide range of shading. Some basalts are quite light-coloured due to a high content of plagioclase, and these are sometimes described as leucobasalts. Lighter basalt can be difficult to distinguish from andesite, but a common rule of thumb, used in field research, is that basalt has a color index of 35 or greater.

The physical properties of basalt reflect its relatively low silica content and typically high iron and magnesium content. The average density of basalt is 2.9 g/cm3, compared with a typical density for granite of 2.7 g/cm3. The viscosity of basaltic magma is relatively low, around 104 to 105 cP, although this is still many orders of magnitude higher than water (which has a viscosity of about 1 cP). The viscosity of basaltic magma is similar to that of ketchup.

Basalt is often porphyritic, containing larger crystals (phenocrysts) formed prior to the extrusion that brought the magma to the surface, embedded in a finer-grained matrix. These phenocrysts usually are of augite, olivine, or a calcium-rich plagioclase, which have the highest melting temperatures of the typical minerals that can crystallize from the melt and are therefore the first to form solid crystals.

Basalt often contains vesicles, formed when dissolved gases bubble out of the magma as it decompresses during its approach to the surface, and the erupted lava then solidifies before the gases can escape. When vesicles make up a substantial fraction of the volume of the rock, the rock is described as scoria.

The term basalt is at times applied to shallow intrusive rocks with a composition typical of basalt, but rocks of this composition with a phaneritic (coarser) groundmass are more properly referred to as diabase (also called dolerite) or, when more coarse-grained (crystals over 2 mm across), as gabbro. Diabase and gabbro are thus the hypabyssal and plutonic equivalents of basalt. In the Hadean, Archean, and early Proterozoic eons of Earth's history, the chemistry of erupted magmas was significantly different from today's, due to immature crustal and asthenosphere differentiation. The resultant ultramafic volcanic rocks, with silica (SiO2) contents below 45% and high magnesium oxide (MgO) content are usually classified as komatiites.

Etymology
The word "basalt" is ultimately derived from Late Latin basaltes, a misspelling of Latin basanites "very hard stone", which was imported from Ancient Greek βασανίτης (basanites), from βάσανος (basanos, "touchstone"). The modern petrological term basalt describing a particular composition of lava-derived rock, originates from its use by Georgius Agricola in 1546 in his work De Natura Fossilium. Agricola applied "basalt" to the volcanic black rock beneath the Bishop of Meissen's Stolpen castle, believing it to be the same as the "basaniten" described by Pliny the Elder in AD 77 in Naturalis Historiae.

Types

On Earth, most basalt forms by decompression melting of the mantle. The high pressure in the upper mantle (due to the weight of the overlying rock) raises the melting point of mantle rock, so that almost all of the upper mantle is solid. However, mantle rock is ductile (the solid rock slowly deforms under high stress). When tectonic forces cause hot mantle rock to creep upwards, the decrease of the pressure on the ascending rock can cause its melting point to drop enough for the rock to partially melt. This produces basaltic magma.

Decompression melting can occur in a variety of tectonic settings. These include continental rift zones, at mid-ocean ridges, above hotspots, and in back-arc basins. Basalt is also produced in subduction zones, where mantle rock rises into a mantle wedge above the descending slab. Decompression melting in this setting is enhanced by further lowering of the melting point by water vapor and other volatiles released from the slab. Each such setting produces basalt with distinctive characteristics.

 * Tholeiitic basalt is relatively rich in iron and poor in alkali metals and aluminium. Included in this category are most basalts of the ocean floor, most large oceanic islands, and continental flood basalts such as the Columbia River Plateau.
 * High and low titanium basalt. Basalt rocks are in some cases classified after their titanium (Ti) content in High-Ti and Low-Ti varieties. High-Ti and Low-Ti basalt has been distinguished in the Paraná and Etendeka traps and the Emeishan Traps.
 * Mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) is a tholeiitic basalt commonly erupted only at ocean ridges and is characteristically low in incompatible elements. Although all MORBs are chemically similar, geologists recognize that they vary significantly in how depleted they are in incompatible elements. Their presence in close proximity along mid-ocean ridges is interpreted as evidence for mantle inhomogeneity.
 * E-MORB, enriched MORB, is relatively undepleted in incompatible elements. E-MORB was once thought to be typical of hot spots along mid-ocean ridges, such as Iceland, but is now known to be present in many locations along mid-ocean ridges.
 * N-MORB, normal MORB, is average in its content of incompatible elements.
 * D-MORB, depleted MORB, is highly depleted in incompatible elements.
 * Alkali basalt is relatively rich in alkali metals. It is silica-undersaturated and may contain feldspathoids, alkali feldspar, phlogopite, and kaersutite. Augite in alkali basalts is titanium-enriched augite, and low-calcium pyroxenes are never present. They are characteristic of continental rifting and hotspot volcanism.
 * High-alumina basalt has greater than 17% alumina (Al2O3) and is intermediate in composition between tholeiitic basalt and alkali basalt. Its relatively alumina-rich composition is based on rocks without phenocrysts of plagioclase. These represent the low silica end of the calc-alkaline magma series and are characteristic of volcanic arcs above subduction zones.
 * Boninite is a high-magnesium form of basalt that is erupted generally in back-arc basins, distinguished by its low titanium content and trace-element composition.
 * Ocean island basalts include both tholeiites and alkali basalts, with tholeiite predominating early in the eruptive history of the island. These basalts are characterized by elevated concentrations of incompatible elements. This suggests that their source mantle rock has produced little magma in the past (it is undepleted).

Petrology
The mineralogy of basalt is characterized by a preponderance of calcic plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene. Olivine can also be a significant constituent. Accessory minerals present in relatively minor amounts include iron oxides and iron-titanium oxides, such as magnetite, ulvöspinel, and ilmenite. Because of the presence of such oxide minerals, basalt can acquire strong magnetic signatures as it cools, and paleomagnetic studies have made extensive use of basalt.

In tholeiitic basalt, pyroxene (augite and orthopyroxene or pigeonite) and calcium-rich plagioclase are common phenocryst minerals. Olivine may also be a phenocryst, and when present, may have rims of pigeonite. The groundmass contains interstitial quartz or tridymite or cristobalite. Olivine tholeiitic basalt has augite and orthopyroxene or pigeonite with abundant olivine, but olivine may have rims of pyroxene and is unlikely to be present in the groundmass.

Alkali basalts typically have mineral assemblages that lack orthopyroxene but contain olivine. Feldspar phenocrysts typically are labradorite to andesine in composition. Augite is rich in titanium compared to augite in tholeiitic basalt. Minerals such as alkali feldspar, leucite, nepheline, sodalite, phlogopite mica, and apatite may be present in the groundmass.

Basalt has high liquidus and solidus temperatures—values at the Earth's surface are near or above 1200 °C (liquidus) and near or below 1000 °C (solidus); these values are higher than those of other common igneous rocks.

The majority of tholeiitic basalts are formed at approximately 50–100 km depth within the mantle. Many alkali basalts may be formed at greater depths, perhaps as deep as 150–200 km. The origin of high-alumina basalt continues to be controversial, with disagreement over whether it is a primary melt or derived from other basalt types by fractionation.

Geochemistry
Relative to most common igneous rocks, basalt compositions are rich in MgO and CaO and low in SiO2 and the alkali oxides, i.e., Na2O + K2O, consistent with their TAS classification. Basalt contains more silica than picrobasalt and most basanites and tephrites but less than basaltic andesite. Basalt has a lower total content of alkali oxides than trachybasalt and most basanites and tephrites.

Basalt generally has a composition of 45–52 wt% SiO2, 2–5 wt% total alkalis, 0.5–2.0 wt% TiO2, 5–14 wt% FeO and 14 wt% or more Al2O3. Contents of CaO are commonly near 10 wt%, those of MgO commonly in the range 5 to 12 wt%.

High-alumina basalts have aluminium contents of 17–19 wt% Al2O3; boninites have magnesium (MgO) contents of up to 15 percent. Rare feldspathoid-rich mafic rocks, akin to alkali basalts, may have Na2O + K2O contents of 12% or more.

The abundances of the lanthanide or rare-earth elements (REE) can be a useful diagnostic tool to help explain the history of mineral crystallisation as the melt cooled. In particular, the relative abundance of europium compared to the other REE is often markedly higher or lower, and called the europium anomaly. It arises because Eu2+ can substitute for Ca2+ in plagioclase feldspar, unlike any of the other lanthanides, which tend to only form 3+ cations.

Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) and their intrusive equivalents, gabbros, are the characteristic igneous rocks formed at mid-ocean ridges. They are tholeiitic basalts particularly low in total alkalis and in incompatible trace elements, and they have relatively flat REE patterns normalized to mantle or chondrite values. In contrast, alkali basalts have normalized patterns highly enriched in the light REE, and with greater abundances of the REE and of other incompatible elements. Because MORB basalt is considered a key to understanding plate tectonics, its compositions have been much studied. Although MORB compositions are distinctive relative to average compositions of basalts erupted in other environments, they are not uniform. For instance, compositions change with position along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and the compositions also define different ranges in different ocean basins. Mid-ocean ridge basalts have been subdivided into varieties such as normal (NMORB) and those slightly more enriched in incompatible elements (EMORB).

Isotope ratios of elements such as strontium, neodymium, lead, hafnium, and osmium in basalts have been much studied to learn about the evolution of the Earth's mantle. Isotopic ratios of noble gases, such as 3He/4He, are also of great value: for instance, ratios for basalts range from 6 to 10 for mid-ocean ridge tholeiitic basalt (normalized to atmospheric values), but to 15–24 and more for ocean-island basalts thought to be derived from mantle plumes.

Source rocks for the partial melts that produce basaltic magma probably include both peridotite and pyroxenite.

Morphology and textures
The shape, structure and texture of a basalt is diagnostic of how and where it erupted—for example, whether into the sea, in an explosive cinder eruption or as creeping pāhoehoe lava flows, the classic image of Hawaiian basalt eruptions.

Subaerial eruptions
Basalt that erupts under open air (that is, subaerially) forms three distinct types of lava or volcanic deposits: scoria; ash or cinder (breccia); and lava flows.

Basalt in the tops of subaerial lava flows and cinder cones will often be highly vesiculated, imparting a lightweight "frothy" texture to the rock. Basaltic cinders are often red, coloured by oxidized iron from weathered iron-rich minerals such as pyroxene.

Aā types of blocky cinder and breccia flows of thick, viscous basaltic lava are common in Hawaii. Pāhoehoe is a highly fluid, hot form of basalt which tends to form thin aprons of molten lava which fill up hollows and sometimes forms lava lakes. Lava tubes are common features of pāhoehoe eruptions.

Basaltic tuff or pyroclastic rocks are less common than basaltic lava flows. Usually basalt is too hot and fluid to build up sufficient pressure to form explosive lava eruptions but occasionally this will happen by trapping of the lava within the volcanic throat and buildup of volcanic gases. Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano erupted in this way in the 19th century, as did Mount Tarawera, New Zealand in its violent 1886 eruption. Maar volcanoes are typical of small basalt tuffs, formed by explosive eruption of basalt through the crust, forming an apron of mixed basalt and wall rock breccia and a fan of basalt tuff further out from the volcano.

Amygdaloidal structure is common in relict vesicles and beautifully crystallized species of zeolites, quartz or calcite are frequently found.

Columnar basalt
During the cooling of a thick lava flow, contractional joints or fractures form. If a flow cools relatively rapidly, significant contraction forces build up. While a flow can shrink in the vertical dimension without fracturing, it cannot easily accommodate shrinking in the horizontal direction unless cracks form; the extensive fracture network that develops results in the formation of columns. These structures are predominantly hexagonal in cross-section, but polygons with three to twelve or more sides can be observed. The size of the columns depends loosely on the rate of cooling; very rapid cooling may result in very small (<1 cm diameter) columns, while slow cooling is more likely to produce large columns.

Submarine eruptions

The character of submarine basalt eruptions is largely determined by depth of water, since increased pressure restricts the release of volatile gases and results in effusive eruptions. It has been estimated that at depths greater than 500 m, explosive activity associated with basaltic magma is suppressed. Above this depth, submarine eruptions are often explosive, tending to produce pyroclastic rock rather than basalt flows. These eruptions, described as Surtseyan, are characterised by large quantities of steam and gas and the creation of large amounts of pumice.

Pillow basalts
When basalt erupts underwater or flows into the sea, contact with the water quenches the surface and the lava forms a distinctive pillow shape, through which the hot lava breaks to form another pillow. This "pillow" texture is very common in underwater basaltic flows and is diagnostic of an underwater eruption environment when found in ancient rocks. Pillows typically consist of a fine-grained core with a glassy crust and have radial jointing. The size of individual pillows varies from 10 cm up to several metres.

When pāhoehoe lava enters the sea it usually forms pillow basalts. However, when aā enters the ocean it forms a littoral cone, a small cone-shaped accumulation of tuffaceous debris formed when the blocky aā lava enters the water and explodes from built-up steam.

The island of Surtsey in the Atlantic Ocean is a basalt volcano which breached the ocean surface in 1963. The initial phase of Surtsey's eruption was highly explosive, as the magma was quite fluid, causing the rock to be blown apart by the boiling steam to form a tuff and cinder cone. This has subsequently moved to a typical pāhoehoe-type behaviour.

Volcanic glass may be present, particularly as rinds on rapidly chilled surfaces of lava flows, and is commonly (but not exclusively) associated with underwater eruptions.

Pillow basalt is also produced by some subglacial volcanic eruptions.

Earth
Basalt is the most common volcanic rock type on Earth, making up over 90% of all volcanic rock on the planet. The crustal portions of oceanic tectonic plates are composed predominantly of basalt, produced from upwelling mantle below the ocean ridges. Basalt is also the principal volcanic rock in many oceanic islands, including the islands of Hawaii, the Faroe Islands, and Réunion. The eruption of basalt lava is observed by geologists at about 20 volcanoes per year.

Basalt is the rock most typical of large igneous provinces. These include continental flood basalts, the most voluminous basalts found on land. Examples of continental flood basalts included the Deccan Traps in India, the Chilcotin Group in British Columbia, Canada, the Paraná Traps in Brazil, the Siberian Traps in Russia, the Karoo flood basalt province in South Africa, and the Columbia River Plateau of Washington and Oregon. Basalt is also prevalent across extensive regions of the Eastern Galilee, Golan, and Bashan in Israel and Syria.

Basalt also is common around volcanic arcs, specially those on thin crust.

Ancient Precambrian basalts are usually only found in fold and thrust belts, and are often heavily metamorphosed. These are known as greenstone belts, because low-grade metamorphism of basalt produces chlorite, actinolite, epidote and other green minerals.

Other bodies in the Solar System
As well as forming large parts of the Earth's crust, basalt also occurs in other parts of the Solar System. Basalt commonly erupts on Io (the third largest moon of Jupiter), and has also formed on the Moon, Mars, Venus, and the asteroid Vesta.

The Moon
The dark areas visible on Earth's moon, the lunar maria, are plains of flood basaltic lava flows. These rocks were sampled both by the crewed American Apollo program and the robotic Russian Luna program, and are represented among the lunar meteorites.

Lunar basalts differ from their Earth counterparts principally in their high iron contents, which typically range from about 17 to 22 wt% FeO. They also possess a wide range of titanium concentrations (present in the mineral ilmenite), ranging from less than 1 wt% TiO2, to about 13 wt.%. Traditionally, lunar basalts have been classified according to their titanium content, with classes being named high-Ti, low-Ti, and very-low-Ti. Nevertheless, global geochemical maps of titanium obtained from the Clementine mission demonstrate that the lunar maria possess a continuum of titanium concentrations, and that the highest concentrations are the least abundant.

Lunar basalts show exotic textures and mineralogy, particularly shock metamorphism, lack of the oxidation typical of terrestrial basalts, and a complete lack of hydration. Most of the Moon's basalts erupted between about 3 and 3.5 billion years ago, but the oldest samples are 4.2 billion years old, and the youngest flows, based on the age dating method of crater counting, are estimated to have erupted only 1.2 billion years ago.

Venus
From 1972 to 1985, five Venera and two VEGA landers successfully reached the surface of Venus and carried out geochemical measurements using X-ray fluorescence and gamma-ray analysis. These returned results consistent with the rock at the landing sites being basalts, including both tholeiitic and highly alkaline basalts. The landers are thought to have landed on plains whose radar signature is that of basaltic lava flows. These constitute about 80% of the surface of Venus. Some locations show high reflectivity consistent with unweathered basalt, indicating basaltic volcanism within the last 2.5 million years.

Mars
Basalt is also a common rock on the surface of Mars, as determined by data sent back from the planet's surface, and by Martian meteorites.

Vesta
Analysis of Hubble Space Telescope images of Vesta suggests this asteroid has a basaltic crust covered with a brecciated regolith derived from the crust. Evidence from Earth-based telescopes and the Dawn mission suggest that Vesta is the source of the HED meteorites, which have basaltic characteristics. Vesta is the main contributor to the inventory of basaltic asteroids of the main Asteroid Belt.

Io
Lava flows represent a major volcanic terrain on Io. Analysis of the Voyager images led scientists to believe that these flows were composed mostly of various compounds of molten sulfur. However, subsequent Earth-based infrared studies and measurements from the Galileo spacecraft indicate that these flows are composed of basaltic lava with mafic to ultramafic compositions. This conclusion is based on temperature measurements of Io's "hotspots", or thermal-emission locations, which suggest temperatures of at least 1,300 K and some as high as 1,600 K. Initial estimates suggesting eruption temperatures approaching 2,000 K have since proven to be overestimates because the wrong thermal models were used to model the temperatures.

Weathering

Compared to granitic rocks exposed at the Earth's surface, basalt outcrops weather relatively rapidly. This reflects their content of minerals that crystallized at higher temperatures and in an environment poorer in water vapor than granite. These minerals are less stable in the colder, wetter environment at the Earth's surface. The finer grain size of basalt and the volcanic glass sometimes found between the grains also hasten weathering. The high iron content of basalt causes weathered surfaces in humid climates to accumulate a thick crust of hematite or other iron oxides and hydroxides, staining the rock a brown to rust-red colour. Because of the low potassium content of most basalts, weathering converts the basalt to calcium-rich clay (montmorillonite) rather than potassium-rich clay (illite). Further weathering, particularly in tropical climates, converts the montmorillonite to kaolinite or gibbsite. This produces the distinctive tropical soil known as laterite. The ultimate weathering product is bauxite, the principal ore of aluminium.

Chemical weathering also releases readily water-soluble cations such as calcium, sodium and magnesium, which give basaltic areas a strong buffer capacity against acidification. Calcium released by basalts binds CO2 from the atmosphere forming CaCO3 acting thus as a CO2 trap.

Metamorphism

Intense heat or great pressure transforms basalt into its metamorphic rock equivalents. Depending on the temperature and pressure of metamorphism, these may include greenschist, amphibolite, or eclogite. Basalts are important rocks within metamorphic regions because they can provide vital information on the conditions of metamorphism that have affected the region.

Metamorphosed basalts are important hosts for a variety of hydrothermal ores, including deposits of gold, copper and volcanogenic massive sulfides.

Life on basaltic rocks
The common corrosion features of underwater volcanic basalt suggest that microbial activity may play a significant role in the chemical exchange between basaltic rocks and seawater. The significant amounts of reduced iron, Fe(II), and manganese, Mn(II), present in basaltic rocks provide potential energy sources for bacteria. Some Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria cultured from iron-sulfide surfaces are also able to grow with basaltic rock as a source of Fe(II). Fe- and Mn- oxidizing bacteria have been cultured from weathered submarine basalts of Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount (formerly Loihi). The impact of bacteria on altering the chemical composition of basaltic glass (and thus, the oceanic crust) and seawater suggest that these interactions may lead to an application of hydrothermal vents to the origin of life.

Uses

Basalt is used in construction (e.g. as building blocks or in the groundwork), making cobblestones (from columnar basalt) and in making statues. Heating and extruding basalt yields stone wool, which has potential to be an excellent thermal insulator.

Carbon sequestration in basalt has been studied as a means of removing carbon dioxide, produced by human industrialization, from the atmosphere. Underwater basalt deposits, scattered in seas around the globe, have the added benefit of the water serving as a barrier to the re-release of CO2 into the atmosphere.

title: Basalt


text:
Beeswax

Beeswax (also known as cera alba) is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus Apis. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in or at the hive. The hive workers collect and use it to form cells for honey storage and larval and pupal protection within the beehive. Chemically, beeswax consists mainly of esters of fatty acids and various long-chain alcohols.

Beeswax has been used since prehistory as the first plastic, as a lubricant and waterproofing agent, in lost wax casting of metals and glass, as a polish for wood and leather, for making candles, as an ingredient in cosmetics and as an artistic medium in encaustic painting.

Beeswax is edible, having similarly negligible toxicity to plant waxes, and is approved for food use in most countries and in the European Union under the E number E901. However, due to its inability to be broken down by the human digestive system, it has insignificant nutritional value.

Production
Beeswax is formed by worker bees, which secrete it from eight wax-producing mirror glands on the inner sides of the sternites (the ventral shield or plate of each segment of the body) on abdominal segments 4 to 7. The sizes of these wax glands depend on the age of the worker, and after many daily flights, these glands gradually begin to atrophy.

The new wax is initially glass-clear and colorless, becoming opaque after chewing and being contaminated with pollen by the hive worker bees, becoming progressively yellower or browner by incorporation of pollen oils and propolis. The wax scales are about 3 mm across and 0.1 mm thick, and about 1100 are needed to make a gram of wax. Worker bees use the beeswax to build honeycomb cells. For the wax-making bees to secrete wax, the ambient temperature in the hive must be 33 to 36 C.

The book Beeswax Production, Harvesting, Processing and Products suggests 1 kg of beeswax is sufficient to store 22 kg of honey. Another study estimated that 1 kg of wax can store 24 to 30 kg of honey.

Sugars from honey are metabolized into beeswax in wax-gland-associated fat cells. The amount of honey used by bees to produce wax has not been accurately determined, but according to Whitcomb's 1946 experiment, 6.66 to 8.80 kg of honey yields 1 kg of wax.

Processing

Beeswax as a product for human use may come from cappings cut off the cells in the process of extraction, from old comb that is scrapped, or from unwanted burr comb and brace comb removed from a hive. Its color varies from nearly white to brownish, but most often is a shade of yellow, depending on purity, the region, and the type of flowers gathered by the bees. The wax from the brood comb of the honey bee hive tends to be darker than wax from the honeycomb because impurities accumulate more quickly in the brood comb. Due to the impurities, the wax must be rendered before further use. The leftovers are called slumgum, and is derived from old breeding rubbish (pupa casings, cocoons, shed larva skins, etc.), bee droppings, propolis, and general rubbish.

The wax may be clarified further by heating in water. As with petroleum waxes, it may be softened by dilution with mineral oil or vegetable oil to make it more workable at room temperature.

Physical characteristics
Beeswax is a fragrant solid at room temperature. The colors are light yellow, medium yellow, or dark brown and white. Beeswax is a tough wax formed from a mixture of several chemical compounds.

Beeswax has a relatively low melting point range of 62 to 64 C. If beeswax is heated above 85 °C discoloration occurs. The flash point of beeswax is 204.4 °C.

When natural beeswax is cold, it is brittle, and its fracture is dry and granular. At room temperature (conventionally taken as about 20 °C), it is tenacious and it softens further at human body temperature (37 °C).

Chemical composition

An approximate chemical formula for beeswax is C15H31COOC30H61. Its main constituents are palmitate, palmitoleate, and oleate esters of long-chain (30–32 carbons) aliphatic alcohols, with the ratio of triacontanyl palmitate CH3(CH2)29O-CO-(CH2)14CH3 to cerotic acid CH3(CH2)24COOH, the two principal constituents, being 6:1. Beeswax can be classified generally into European and Oriental types. The saponification value is lower (3–5) for European beeswax, and higher (8–9) for Oriental types. The analytical characterization can be done by high-temperature gas chromatography.

Beeswax adulteration

Beeswax faces challenges in the market due to the presence of various suppliers, making it difficult to distinguish authentic from fake variants. Adulterated beeswax often contains paraffin and other toxic additives, posing potential health risks and lacking the genuine honey-scented aroma of pure beeswax.

The fake counterparts, typically in pellet form, feel smooth, sticky, and greasy, reflecting the presence of added paraffin. To identify fake beeswax, consumers are advised to pay attention to color, scent, feel, and texture.

Genuine beeswax, sourced organically from beekeepers, is known for its varying hues, strong honey fragrance, and a hard yet pliable feel.

Production
In 2020, world production of beeswax was 62,116 tonnes, led by India with 38% of the total.

Uses
Candle-making has long involved the use of beeswax, which burns readily and cleanly, and this material was traditionally prescribed for the making of the Paschal candle or "Easter candle". Beeswax candles are purported to be superior to other wax candles, because they burn brighter and longer, do not bend, and burn cleaner. It is further recommended for the making of other candles used in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. Beeswax is also the candle constituent of choice in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Refined beeswax plays a prominent role in art materials both as a binder in encaustic paint and as a stabilizer in oil paint to add body.

Beeswax is an ingredient in surgical bone wax, which is used during surgery to control bleeding from bone surfaces; shoe polish and furniture polish can both use beeswax as a component, dissolved in turpentine or sometimes blended with linseed oil or tung oil; modeling waxes can also use beeswax as a component; pure beeswax can also be used as an organic surfboard wax. Beeswax blended with pine rosin is used for waxing, and can serve as an adhesive to attach reed plates to the structure inside a squeezebox. It can also be used to make Cutler's resin, an adhesive used to glue handles onto cutlery knives. It is used in Eastern Europe in egg decoration; it is used for writing, via resist dyeing, on batik eggs (as in pysanky) and for making beaded eggs. Beeswax is used by percussionists to make a surface on tambourines for thumb rolls. It can also be used as a metal injection moulding binder component along with other polymeric binder materials.

Beeswax was formerly used in the manufacture of phonograph cylinders. It may still be used to seal formal legal or royal decree and academic parchments such as placing an awarding stamp imprimatur of the university upon completion of postgraduate degrees.

Purified and bleached beeswax is used in the production of food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. The three main types of beeswax products are yellow, white, and beeswax absolute. Yellow beeswax is the crude product obtained from the honeycomb, white beeswax is bleached or filtered yellow beeswax, and beeswax absolute is yellow beeswax treated with alcohol. In food preparation, it is used as a coating for cheese; by sealing out the air, protection is given against spoilage (mold growth). Beeswax may also be used as a food additive E901, in small quantities acting as a glazing agent, which serves to prevent water loss, or used to provide surface protection for some fruits. Soft gelatin capsules and tablet coatings may also use E901. Beeswax is also a common ingredient of natural chewing gum. The wax monoesters in beeswax are poorly hydrolysed in the guts of humans and other mammals, so they have insignificant nutritional value. Some birds, such as honeyguides, can digest beeswax. Beeswax is the main diet of wax moth larvae.

The use of beeswax in skin care and cosmetics has been increasing. A German study found beeswax to be superior to similar barrier creams (usually mineral oil-based creams such as petroleum jelly), when used according to its protocol. Beeswax is used in lip balm, lip gloss, hand creams, salves, and moisturizers; and in cosmetics such as eye shadow, blush, and eye liner. Beeswax is also an important ingredient in moustache wax and hair pomades, which make hair look sleek and shiny.

In oil spill control, beeswax is processed to create Petroleum Remediation Product (PRP). It is used to absorb oil or petroleum-based pollutants from water.

Historical uses
Beeswax was among the first plastics to be used, alongside other natural polymers such as gutta-percha, horn, tortoiseshell, and shellac. For thousands of years, beeswax has had a wide variety of applications; it has been found in the tombs of Egypt, in wrecked Viking ships, and in Roman ruins. Beeswax never goes bad and can be heated and reused. Historically, it has been used:

 * As candles - the oldest intact beeswax candles north of the Alps were found in the Alamannic graveyard of Oberflacht, Germany, dating to 6th/7th century AD
 * In the manufacture of cosmetics
 * As a modelling material in the lost-wax casting process, or cire perdue
 * For wax tablets used for a variety of writing purposes
 * In encaustic paintings such as the Fayum mummy portraits
 * In bow making
 * To strengthen and preserve sewing thread, cordage, shoe laces, etc.
 * As a component of sealing wax
 * To strengthen and to forestall splitting and cracking of wind instrument reeds
 * To form the mouthpieces of a didgeridoo, and the frets on the Philippine kutiyapi – a type of boat lute
 * As a sealant or lubricant for bullets in cap and ball firearms
 * To stabilize the military explosive Torpex – before being replaced by a petroleum-based product
 * In producing Javanese batik
 * As an ancient form of dental tooth filling
 * As the joint filler in the slate bed of pool and billiard tables.

title: Beeswax


text:
Sacramento County, California

Sacramento County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854.

Sacramento County is the central county of the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area. The county covers about 994 sqmi in the northern portion of the Central Valley, on into Gold Country. Sacramento County extends from the low delta lands between the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, including Suisun Bay, north to about 10 mi beyond the State Capitol and east into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The southernmost portion of Sacramento County has direct access to San Francisco Bay. Since 2010, statewide droughts in California have further strained Sacramento County's water security.

History
Sacramento County was one of the original counties of California, which were created in 1850 at the time of statehood. The county was named after the Sacramento River, which forms its western border. The river was named by Spanish cavalry officer Gabriel Moraga for the Santisimo Sacramento (Most Holy Sacrament), referring to the Catholic Eucharist.

Alexander Hamilton Willard, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, is buried in the old Franklin Cemetery.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 994 sqmi, of which 965 sqmi is land and 29 sqmi (3.0%) is water. Most of the county is at an elevation close to sea level, with some areas below sea level. The highest point in the county is Carpenter Hill at 828 ft, in the southeast part of Folsom. Major watercourses in the county include the American River, Sacramento River, Cosumnes River, a tributary of the Mokelumne River, and Dry Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River.

Adjacent counties

 * Sutter County - northwest
 * Placer County - north
 * El Dorado County - northeast
 * Amador County - east
 * San Joaquin County - south
 * Contra Costa County - southwest
 * Solano County - west
 * Yolo County - west

National protected areas

 * Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
 * California National Historic Trail
 * Pony Express National Historic Trail

2020 census
''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Sacramento County had a population of 1,418,788. The racial makeup of Sacramento County was 815,151 (57.5%) White, 200,228 (15.4%) African American, 14,308 (1.0%) Native American, 203,211 (14.3%) Asian, 13,858 (1.0%) Pacific Islander, 131,691 (9.3%) from other races, and 93,511 (6.6%) from two or more races. There were 306,196 Hispanic or Latino residents of any race (21.6%).

2000
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,223,499 people, 453,602 households, and 297,562 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,267 PD/sqmi. There were 474,814 housing units at an average density of 492 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 64.0% White, 10.6% Black or African American, 1.09% Native American, 13.5% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 7.5% from other races, and 5.8% from two or more races. 19.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 10.2% were of German, 7.0% English, 6.7% Irish and 5.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 75.7% spoke only English at home; 10.0% spoke Spanish, 1.5% Hmong, 1.4% Chinese or Mandarin, 1.3% Vietnamese, 1.2% Tagalog and 1.2% Russian.

There were 453,602 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the county, 27.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.5% was from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 female residents aged 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,816, and the median income for a family was $50,717. Males had a median income of $39,482 versus $31,569 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,142. About 10.3% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government
The Government of Sacramento County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Sacramento. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments such as the Government of Sacramento County, while municipalities such as the city of Sacramento and Folsom provide additional, often non-essential services.

It is composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors, several other elected offices including the Sheriff, District Attorney, and Assessor, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the County Executive Officer. In addition, several entities of the government of California have jurisdiction conterminous with Sacramento County, such as the Sacramento County Superior Court.

Under its foundational Charter, the five-member elected Sacramento County Board of Supervisors (BOS) is the county legislature. The board operates in a legislative, executive, and quasi-judicial capacity. The current members are:

 * Phil Serna, district 1
 * Patrick Kennedy, district 2
 * Rich Desmond, district 3
 * Sue Frost, district 4
 * Don Nottoli, district 5

The Sacramento County Code is the codified law of Sacramento County in the form of local ordinances passed by the Board of Supervisors.

Policing
The Sacramento County Sheriff provides court protection and jail management for the entire county. It provides patrol and detective services for the unincorporated areas of the county. Incorporated municipalities within the county that have their own municipal police departments or contract with the Sacramento County sheriff for their policing are: Elk Grove, 170,000, municipal department; Citrus Heights, 88,000, municipal department; Folsom, 78,000, municipal department; Isleton, sheriff contract; Rancho Cordova, 73,000, sheriff contract; Galt, population 26,000, municipal department.

Overview
Sacramento County was politically competitive in most presidential elections between 1976 and 2004, but now votes significantly in favor of the Democratic candidates. Candidates from the Democratic Party have carried the county in the past eight presidential elections, and have won a majority of the county's votes four times during that time (in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020). The city of Sacramento is strongly Democratic, while rural areas are strongly Republican; suburban areas are more divided. This pattern is also present in congressional and state legislative elections. The last Republican presidential candidate to win a majority in the county was George H. W. Bush in 1988.

In gubernatorial elections, Sacramento County is typically a bellwether, having voted for the winner every time since 1962 with the exception of 1970 and 2002.

In the House of Representatives, all of California's 6th congressional district and portions of its 3rd, and 7th districts are in the county.

In the State Assembly, all of the 7th and 8th districts and parts of the 6th, 9th, and 11th districts are in the county.

In the State Senate, parts of the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 8th districts are in the county.

According to the California Secretary of State, as of October 22, 2012, Sacramento County has 698,899 registered voters, out of 944,243 eligible (74%). Of those, 306,960 (44%) are registered Democrats, 225,688 (32%) are registered Republicans, and 134,677 (19%) have declined to state a political party.

Crime
The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Colleges and universities

 * Public universities
 * California State University Sacramento
 * UC Davis Extension
 * UC Davis School of Medicine
 * UC Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing

 * Community colleges
 * Los Rios Community College District
 * American River College
 * Cosumnes River College
 * Folsom Lake College
 * Sacramento City College
 * Sierra College

 * Private, not for profit
 * University of the Pacific in Sacramento
 * National University Sacramento Regional Campus
 * University of San Francisco Regional Campus
 * University of Southern California Extension
 * Western Seminary
 * Epic Bible College

 * Private, for profit
 * Alliant International University
 * California Northstate University College of Pharmacy
 * Chamberlain University Rancho Cordova
 * DeVry University
 * Lincoln Law School of Sacramento
 * MTI College
 * Professional School of Psychology
 * San Joaquin Valley College
 * The Art Institute of California – Sacramento, a branch of The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles
 * Universal Technical Institute
 * University of Phoenix Sacramento Valley

K-12 education
School districts include:

K-12:

 * Center Joint Unified School District
 * Elk Grove Unified School District
 * Folsom-Cordova Unified School District
 * Natomas Unified School District
 * River Delta Joint Unified School District
 * Sacramento City Unified School District
 * San Juan Unified School District
 * Twin Rivers Unified School District - Includes some areas for grades K-12, some for 7-12 only, and some for 9-12 only

Secondary:
 * Galt Joint Union High School District
 * Roseville Joint Union High School District

Elementary:

 * Arcohe Union Elementary School District
 * Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District
 * Elverta Joint Elementary School District
 * Galt Joint Union Elementary School District
 * Robla Elementary School District

Public Transportation
Sacramento Regional Transit District, also known as Sacramento RT, provides public transit throughout the county. It operates bus services, as well as light rail services on the Blue, Green, and Gold lines. In addition, the Yolobus provides Sacramento County with service connecting to destinations in neighboring Yolo County, such as Davis. Sacramento RT and Yolobus both provide bus services connecting Sacramento with Sacramento International Airport.

Amtrak and its Amtrak California subsidiary operate passenger rail service from the Sacramento Valley station. This station is served by the Coast Starlight, the California Zephyr, the Capitol Corridor, and the San Joaquins, which link the region with destinations across California and the United States.

Airports
Sacramento International Airport is a major, full-service airport with passenger flights. It is owned by the County of Sacramento. The county also owns Sacramento Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova and Sacramento Executive Airport, both of which are general aviation airports. Sacramento McClellan Airport, formerly McClellan Air Force Base, is a privately owned airport between North Highlands and Rio Linda. There are also privately owned public use airports located in Elk Grove and Rio Linda.

Public roadways
The Sacramento County Department of Transportation (SACDOT) maintains approximately 2200 miles of roadway within the unincorporated area. The roads range from six lane thoroughfares to rural roads.

Cities

 * Citrus Heights
 * Elk Grove
 * Folsom
 * Galt
 * Isleton
 * Rancho Cordova
 * Sacramento (county seat)

Census-designated places

 * Antelope
 * Arden-Arcade
 * Carmichael
 * Clay
 * Courtland
 * Elverta
 * Fair Oaks
 * Florin
 * Foothill Farms
 * Franklin
 * Freeport
 * Fruitridge Pocket
 * Gold River
 * Herald
 * Hood
 * La Riviera
 * Lemon Hill
 * Mather
 * McClellan Park
 * North Highlands
 * Orangevale
 * Parkway
 * Rancho Murieta
 * Rio Linda
 * Rosemont
 * Vineyard
 * Walnut Grove
 * Wilton

Unincorporated community

 * Locke

Former townships
In February 1851, the county was divided into eight civil townships: the seven marked by asterisks below, plus Sacramento township. In July of that year, American township was divided off from Sacramento township. In 1856, the Board of Supervisors realigned the divisions into the 14 civil townships below, plus the city of Sacramento.

 * Alabama
 * American
 * Brighton*
 * Center*
 * Cosumnes*
 * Dry Creek
 * Franklin
 * Georgiana
 * Granite
 * Lee
 * Mississippi*
 * Natoma*
 * San Joaquin*
 * Sutter*

Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Sacramento County.

† county seat

title: Sacramento County, California


text:
User:Oddjobn99

New stuff:

 * Mallomar! (the redirect)

I'm a college high school student. Basically I don't really know anything, so I'll stick with the video/computer games.

Added to:
 * Diablo (computer game) - I played this game for a couple years and even a little now, so I think I'm pretty well qualified. Back then, the Diablo article was about the computer game.

Wrote:
 * East Brunswick, New Jersey

Hi there, Welcome! It seems to me that you are too modest. There is still a lot to do well within your grasp. Perhaps one of your teachers may even assign a project you then write in here.

See for example Rocky Mountains, or liver, heart and many other things. A high school geography or biology book will help a lot to come up with initial entries. Of course you have to come up with your own writing then.

-- Kwaku

Thanks!

I probably could dig up a few papers I've written on things and adapt them for a more encyclopedia format.

The original version of this page, with complete history, is available at User:Oddjobn99/Old.

title: User:Oddjobn99


text:
User:Orcalover

New Wikipedian. Lover of killer whales, apparently. Fellow Alaskan? Welcome, anyway! --LMS

Greetings.

Yes, my handle does refer to those lovely sea creatures, and yes, I live near waters where Orcas thrive. Currently, I live in Juneau and have for 19 years. I'd describe myself as an inveterate reader. Most people would describe me as well-informed, (and, probably, opinionated).

I have an undergraduate degree in History from an old-fashioned, liberal arts college Occidental College, hold a teaching credential (elementary school), and worked as a systems programmer.

2020:  Back and actively working on Juneau Alaska pages

I'm still seeking what the WWW is really good for. So far I enjoy the Motley Fool (community, encouraging frugality and thoughfulness), Tidepool (news of the region, focused on Nature), Trackstar (web pages in frames, mostly lessons), and, of course,  Wikipedia.

Orcalover

Spring 2002: happy to be here. Currently, seeking the preferred format for listing an external reference. I know I've seen it at the bottom of some articles and believe I want to put a link on the US Department of Labor article, but haven't had much luck finding the example.

Back and involved tail end of 2018

title: User:Orcalover


text:
User:P0ppe

Studying at Hanken in Helsinki, Finland. Lived in Stockholm, Copenhagen and London. Member since around 2000, five digit member number :P.

External links:
 * http://peter.sjoholm.dk

title: User:P0ppe


text:
User:Poslfit

My name is John Chew and you can find out more about me at http://www.poslfit.com.

I have lived in Toronto since 1966, except for a few years in Japan, France, and Mexico.

You may have come across my name in the following contexts.

 * I have written four peer-reviewed mathematical papers about geometry and about meta-Fibonacci sequences.
 * I am a descendant of the same 17th century Virginia colonist John Chew as the 18th century Philadelphia lawyer Benjamin Chew, but not descended from Benjamin.
 * I was an 11-time contestant on the The New Quiz Kids.
 * I won the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad in 1981, and won a silver medal for the first team to represent Canada at the International Mathematical Olympiad in 1981 in Washington.
 * I won the first Toronto Rubik's Cube championship in 1981.
 * I created and edited the Inter-Network Mail Guide, an early reference work for the pre-web Internet, mentioned inter alia in IETF RFC 1175.
 * I was the 2021 recipient of the Peter Gzowski Award.
 * Since 2022, I have been involved in a Canadian lexicography project, and spoken on the subject at the American Dialect Society and Editors' Association of Canada meetings in 2023; I am not a linguist, but am a son of the Canadian anthropological linguist John J. (Jack) Chew, Jr.
 * I am involved in competitive Scrabble in many ways, including
 * being head of NASPA Games
 * having organized, directed or helped run every top-level English-language tournament in North America, England, Malta, South Africa, Thailand and the world
 * having a Swiss pairing system named for me
 * being the editor of the NASPA Word List
 * coheld for many the competitive record for highest-scoring game ending in a tie (at 502)

title: User:Poslfit


text:
User:PatrickSalsbury

Photo of me - (Wikipedia doesn't seem to want to display it remotely without some sort of signed release, which is honestly more hassle for me at the moment than it is for you to click through if you want to see what I look like. :-) )

The guy that runs http://reality.sculptors.com/ :-)

You can find out more about me, my interests, and current projects/etc. on my homepage

I started contributing to WikiPedia on January 21, 2002.

Welcome to Wikipedia Patrick! Are you the same Patick Salsbury that wrote about the use of aqualculture-derived algae as an energy source in connection with artificial islands? If you are that Patrick, then I would like to say that I admire your work. --User:maveric149

That sounds like me. :-) I'm not sure I remember the exact place, but I do run mailing lists about alternative energy and floating cities over on the Reality Sculptors website, and have posted about research into using alage for hydrogen production. Thanks for the welcome! :-)  --PatrickSalsbury

title: User:PatrickSalsbury