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Ebonized
Ebonising is a process for darkening wood, giving it an appearance similar to ebony, hence the name. It is particularly used for pianos and fine furniture. History While little record exists of who invented ebonizing, it was popular among the upper classes throughout the Early Modern period, especially when ebony was scarce. In the 19th century, ebonizing became popular as ebony was no longer nearly plentiful enough to feed demand for the new mass market furniture. Processes One process uses iron dissolved in vinegar as the darkening agent. The ferric acetate thus formed reacts with the tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ... in the wood, forming a black substance crusting the top of the wood. Since hardwoods have higher tannin content, they are more convenient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ebony
Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is finely textured and has a mirror finish when polished, making it valuable as an ornamental wood. It is often cited as one of the most expensive woods in the world. Etymology The word ''ebony'' comes from the Ancient Egyptian ', through the Ancient Greek ('), into Latin () and Middle English. Species Species of ebony include '' Diospyros ebenum'' (Ceylon ebony), native to southern India and Sri Lanka; '' D. crassiflora'' (Gabon ebony), native to western Africa; '' D. humilis'' (Queensland ebony), native to Queensland, the Northern Territory, New Guinea and Timor; and '' D. celebica'' (Sulawesi ebony), native to Indonesia and prized for its luxuriant, multi-colored wood grain. Mauritius ebony, '' D. tessellaria'', was largely exploited by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal temperament. A musician who specializes in piano is called a pianist. There are two main types of piano: the #Grand, grand piano and the #Upupright piano. The grand piano offers better sound and more precise key control, making it the preferred choice when space and budget allow. The grand piano is also considered a necessity in venues hosting skilled pianists. The upright piano is more commonly used because of its smaller size and lower cost. When a key is depressed, the strings inside are struck by felt-coated wooden hammers. The vibrations are transmitted through a Bridge (instrument), bridge to a Soundboard (music), soundboard that amplifies the sound by Coupling (physics), coupling the Sound, acoustic energy t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Furniture
Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furniture is also used to hold objects at a convenient height for work (as horizontal surfaces above the ground, such as tables and desks), or to store things (e.g., cupboards, Shelf (storage), shelves, and drawers). Furniture can be a product of design and can be considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or Religion, religious purpose. It can be made from a vast multitude of materials, including metal, plastic, and wood. Furniture can be made using a variety of woodworking joints which often reflects the local culture. People have been using natural objects, such as tree stumps, rocks and moss, as furniture since the beginning of human civilization and continues today in some househol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth's crust, being mainly deposited by meteorites in its metallic state. Extracting usable metal from iron ores requires kilns or furnaces capable of reaching , about 500 °C (900 °F) higher than that required to smelt copper. Humans started to master that process in Eurasia during the 2nd millennium BC and the use of iron tools and weapons began to displace copper alloys – in some regions, only around 1200 BC. That event is considered the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. In the modern world, iron alloys, such as steel, stainless steel, cast iron and special steels, are by far the most common industrial metals, due to their mechan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vinegar
Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to ethanol using yeast and ethanol to acetic acid using acetic acid bacteria. Many types of vinegar are made, depending on source materials. The product is now mainly used in the culinary arts as a flavorful, acidic cooking ingredient or in pickling. Various types are used as condiments or garnishes, including balsamic vinegar and malt vinegar. As the most easily manufactured mild acid, it has a wide variety of industrial and domestic uses, including functioning as a household cleaner. Etymology The word "vinegar" arrived in Middle English from Old French (''vyn egre''; sour wine), which in turn derives from Latin: (wine) + (neuter gender of , sour). Vinegar was formerly also called . The word "acetic" derives from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferric Acetate
Ferric acetate is the iron compound with the formula . This red brown solid is the acetate salt of the coordination complex e3O(OAc)6(H2O)3sup>+ (OAc− is CH3CO2−). Commonly, the salt is known as "basic iron acetate". The formation of the red-brown complex was once used as a test for ferric ions. Structure and synthesis left, 200px, structure of the cation called basic iron acetate as determined from X-ray crystallography Basic iron acetate forms on treating aqueous solutions of iron(III) sources with acetate salts. It is slowly soluble in water and poorly soluble in acetic acid. A typical precursor is freshly precipitated iron oxide/hydroxide, which is halide-free. Early work showed that the cation is trinuclear. The Fe centres are equivalent, each being octahedral, being bound to six oxygen ligands, including a triply bridging oxide at the center of the equilateral triangle. The compound was an early example of a molecular complex of iron that features an oxide ligand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tannin
Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widely applied to any large polyphenolic compound containing sufficient hydroxyls and other suitable groups (such as carboxyls) to form strong complexes with various macromolecules. The term ''tannin'' (from scientific French ''tannin'', from French ''tan'' "crushed oak bark", ''tanner'' "to tan", cognate with English language, English ''tanning'', Medieval Latin ''tannare'', from Proto-Celtic ''*tannos'' "oak") refers to the abundance of these compounds in oak Bark (botany), bark, which was used in Tanning (leather), tanning animal Hide (skin), hides into leather. The tannin compounds are widely distributed in many species of plants, where they play a role in protection from predation (acting as pesticides) and might help in regulating plant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
