Canada balsam
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
Please Take Over This Page and Apply to be Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [1] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.
Canada balsam, also called Canada turpentine or balsam of fir, is a turpentine which is made from the resin of the balsam fir tree (Abies balsamea).
It is the fir's resin, dissolved in essential oils, and is a viscous, sticky, colourless (sometimes yellowish) liquid, that turns to a transparent yellowish mass when the essential oils have been allowed to evaporate.
Due to its high optical quality, its refractive index (n = 1.55, very close to that of glass), and its purity it is mainly used in optics as an invisible-when-dry glue for glass. It is soluble in xylene, amorphous when dried, and it does not crystallize with age, so its optical properties do not deteriorate.[citation needed]
Some uses include:
- in biology to conserve microscopic samples. The sample is sandwiched between a microscope slide and a coverslip and Canada balsam is used to glue the arrangement together and enclose the sample to conserve it;
- in optical technology to glue together optical elements such as two prisms to form a beam splitter, or two lenses;
- to fix scratches in glass (car glass for instance) as invisibly as possible.
- in oil painting to achieve glow and facilitate fusion.
Canada balsam is sometimes incorrectly called Balm of Gilead. The true balsam is a fir tree; Balm of Gilead is a type of poplar.de:Kanadabalsam fr:Baume du Canada nl:Canadabalsem ja:カナダバルサム
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
