Gum thus

Description

The balsam exudate, or gum thus, obtained from the longleaf pine, Pinus palustris, the Cuban pine, Pinus caribaea, and the loblolly pine, Pinus taeda. Gum thus, considered a thick turpentine, is a yellowish sticky mass with a characteristic piney odor. Turpentine is the volatile fraction collected from distilling gum thus. Rosin, or colophony, is the solid, resinous residue left after the distillation of turpentine. Gum thus is used as an additive in oil paints, an Insecticide, a polish and an antiseptic agent. Gum thus is also an archaic name for olibanum.

See also Balsam, colophony and turpentine.

Synonyms and Related Terms

balsam; turpentine; olibanum; rosin

Risks

• Inhalation and skin contact may cause mild to severe irritation.
• Combustible.

Physical and Chemical Properties

Soluble in ethanol, chloroform, ether, glacial acetic acid. Insoluble in water.

Resources and Citations

• Thomas Gregory, The Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Reinhold Publishing, New York, 3rd ed., 1942

• R. Mayer, The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, Viking Press, New York, 1981

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 832

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 6969, 9957