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sperm oil

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sperm oil, liquid wax obtained from the sperm whale, or cachalot, and related marine mammals. It flows readily, is clear, and varies in color from pale yellow to brownish yellow. Chemically it is not a true oil. It is secured from the blubber and from a huge cavity in the whale's head (this oil cavity helps the whale keep part of his head above water for breathing). A solid wax, spermaceti spermaceti , solid waxy substance, white, odorless, and tasteless, separated from the oils obtained from the sperm whale (see sperm oil) and other marine mammals. A mixture of esters of fatty acids, it is composed chiefly of cetyl palmitate.
..... Click the link for more information. , is extracted from the oil by filtration and treatment with potassium hydroxide. The oil is an excellent lubricant, especially for watches and other delicate instruments, and is used as a dressing for leather, to protect plants from insects, in tempering steel, and in making soap.
sperm oil
an oil obtained from the head of the sperm whale, used as a lubricant
sperm oil [′spərm ‚ȯil]
(materials)
A combustible, yellowish oil found in the head cavities and blubber of the sperm whale; soluble in ether, chloroform, and benzene; used as a lubricant for precision machinery, for rustproofing metals, and in transmission fluids.
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It contains the long-chain alcohols and esters and the unsaturated fatty acids that characterized sperm oil and spermaceti, and that are so good for your skin.
Save the Whale by Using Jojoba Oil by Peter Nisbet / Food/cooking/nutrition community
Then there's his analysis of the vast economy that these animal islands bankrolled: a world lit - literally - by sperm oil.
Spellbound by monsters of the deep by guardian.co.uk / guardian.co.uk
The museum's Andrew Kitchener said: "It's the smell of sperm oil which impregnates the bones.
WHALE OF A STINK; Fishy pong as Moby bones go on display by Dow, Ian / Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland)
 
 
 
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