GUTTA-PERCHA n.
pressible at the tamperature of boiling water, and, on cooling, retains its new shape. It dissolves in oils and ethers, but not in water. In many of its properties it resembles caoutchouc, and it is extensively used for many economical purposes. The Mimusops globosa of Guiana also yields this material.…
HECDECANE n.
A white, semisolid, spermaceti-like hydrocarbon, C16H34, of the paraffin series, found dissolved as an important ingredient of kerosene, and so called because each molecule has sixteen atoms of carbon; -- called also hexadecane.
INULIN n.
A substance of very wide occurrence. It is found dissolved in the sap of the roots and rhizomes of many composite and other plants, as Inula, Helianthus, Campanula, etc., and is extracted by solution as a tasteless, white, semicrystalline substance, resembling starch, with which it is isomeric. It is intermediate in na…
JAPAN a.
k (Chem.), a quickly drying black lacquer or varnish, consisting essentially of asphaltum dissolved in naphtha or turpentine, and used for coating ironwork; -- called also Brunswick black, Japan lacquer, or simply Japan. -- Japan camphor, ordinary camphor brought from China or Japan, as distinguished from the rare var…
KERATIN n.
, hair, feathers, and the like. It is an insoluble substance, and, unlike elastin, is not dissolved even by gastric or pancreatic juice. By decomposition with sulphuric acid it yields leucin and tyrosin, as does albumin. Called also epidermose.