What is gum? Detailed answer

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What is gum? Detailed answer

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What is gum?

Gum (the resinous secretion of plants), or gum, can be used for a variety of purposes, more important than just providing you with chewing gum. And, of course, there are a great many types of gum. One of these species, the so-called "gum arabic" (gum arabic), is used for the manufacture of candy, medicines and glue, as well as in the manufacture of silk.

Like most natural resins, gum is obtained from plants as a thick, sticky liquid that hardens in air and dissolves in water. Gum arabic is isolated by some types of acacias growing in Africa, Australia and Asia. It is sold in the form of transparent yellow or reddish pieces.

Some types of gum do not dissolve in water, but absorb it, forming a soft, sticky, gelatinous mass. Such gum is called "dragon gum" (dragon gum), which is used for the production of cough tablets and for fabric processing. Another important type of gum is cherry gum, which is used to starch straw in the manufacture of straw hats and other items.

Other types of gum are plum, peach, spruce, rubber. Rubber is obtained from gum trees and is used to make chewing gum. All these types of gums are used to produce inks, textiles, paper, medicines. Some of the highest quality varieties are used in medical and scientific laboratories for culture work. Most often, the gum is harvested during the dry season and brought to the market in the form of "noodles" or "tears".

Chemically, gum is made up of acid molecules linked to sugar molecules. In addition to pure gum, which we talked about, there is also stone resin. It is also obtained from plants, but differs from pure gum in that it does not completely dissolve in water. The two best-known types of this resin are frankincense and myrrh. These are highly fragrant substances and are used to produce perfumes and essences.

Author: Likum A.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

Where did the first mirror appear?

Have you ever looked into the water of a lake? Did you see the reflection of the trees and the sky there? Essentially you were looking in a mirror. After all, a mirror is a smooth surface that reflects light and other objects.

It is very important that its surface is smooth. The smoother it is, the better the reflection. When the breeze ruffles the water, you can only see the sun's reflections - and no other objects.

In ancient times, mirrors were made of polished metal. Now the mirror is made of smooth glass with a layer of metal on the back. The glass itself is not yet a mirror: the reflection gives us a narrow layer of silver, and the glass only protects it from scratches and damage.

We will never know when a man came up with a mirror. Probably, he also often looked into the smooth surface of the pond and saw himself there. Perhaps, by chance, he learned that the polished metal can also reflect objects. One fine day (we know almost certainly that a woman suggested this idea) a person began to specially polish pieces of metal and give them the desired shape. So there were mirrors.

And in the times of ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome, people already widely used mirrors. Even then they had small pocket mirrors that were comfortable to carry around. They were made from a circular plate of metal: copper, bronze, silver and gold.

Just as a child is surprised when he sees his own reflection, ancient people were surprised in the same way. They did not know how a reflection is obtained, so they attributed magical powers to mirrors. They thought that what they see in the mirrors is their spirit. Thus arose the superstition that if you break a mirror, it can harm the Spirit.

The first who guessed to make glass mirrors with a layer of mercury or tin were the Venetians. By 1300 they were producing such mirrors, and they soon replaced the metal plates. We use them to this day.

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