Nacre, also known as mother of pearl, is an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some mollusks. Composite materials (or composites for short are engineered Materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000 It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Iridescence is an Optical phenomenon in which Hue changes with the angle from which a surface is viewed Pearls and the inside layer of the pearl oyster shells and the freshwater pearl mussel shells are made of nacre. A pearl is a hard roundish object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled Mollusk. Pinctada is a Genus of pearl oysters. These are saltwater clams marine Bivalve Molluscs of the Genus Pinctada The freshwater pearl mussel, Margaritifera margaritifera, is an Endangered species of freshwater Mussel, an Aquatic Bivalve Many other families of mollusks also have a shell layer which is nacreous, including the Trochidae and the Turbinidae. The Trochidae, Common name top snails, are a Taxonomic family of very small to large sea Snails marine Gastropod Turbinidae, Common name the turban snails, are a Taxonomic family of small to large sea Snails marine Gastropod

The iridescent nacre inside a Nautilus shell

Description

Nacre is composed of hexagonal platelets of aragonite (calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) crystals) 10-20 µm wide and 0. Nautilus (from Greek ναυτίλος, 'sailor' is the common name of any marine creatures of the Cephalopod family Nautilidae, the sole Aragonite is a Carbonate mineral, one of the two common naturally occurring polymorphs of Calcium carbonate, Ca[[carbon C]] O 3 Calcium carbonate is a Chemical compound with the Chemical formula Ca[[Carbon C]] O 3 In Materials science, a crystal is a Solid in which the constituent Atoms Molecules or Ions are packed in a regularly ordered repeating A micrometre ( American spelling: micrometer; symbol µm) is one millionth of a Metre, or equivalently one thousandth of a Millimetre 5 µm thick, arranged in a continuous parallel lamina. These layers are separated by sheets of organic matrix composed of elastic biopolymers (such as chitin, lustrin and silk-like proteins). A material is said to be elastic if it deforms under stress (e Biopolymers are a class of Polymers produced by living organisms Chitin ( C 8 H 13 O 5 N)n (ˈkaɪtən is a long-chain Polymer of a N-acetylglucosamine Silk is a natural Protein Fiber, some forms of which can be woven into Textiles The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons Proteins are large Organic compounds made of Amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by Peptide bonds between the Carboxyl This mixture of brittle platelets and the thin layers of elastic biopolymers makes the material strong and resilient. Strength and resilience are also likely to be due to adhesion by the "brickwork" arrangement of the platelets, which inhibits transverse crack propagation. This design at multiple-length sizes increases its toughness enormously, making it almost equivalent to that of silicon. Toughness, in Materials science and Metallurgy, is the resistance to Fracture of a material when stressed. Silicon (ˈsɪlɪkən or /ˈsɪlɪkɒn/ silicium is the Chemical element that has the symbol Si and Atomic number 14

Nacre appears iridescent because the thickness of the aragonite platelets is comparable to the wavelength of visible light. Iridescence is an Optical phenomenon in which Hue changes with the angle from which a surface is viewed This results in constructive and destructive interference of different wavelengths of light, resulting in different colors of light being reflected at different viewing angles. In physics interference is the addition ( superposition) of two or more Waves that result in a new wave pattern

Nacre is secreted by the epithelial cells of the mantle tissue of some species of mollusk. In biology and medicine epithelium is a tissue composed of cells that line the cavities and surfaces of structures throughout the body The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known living Organisms It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living and is often called The mantle is an important part of the anatomy of Molluscs It is the dorsal body wall which covers the visceral mass Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000 The nacre is deposited onto the inner surface of the shell, the iridescent nacreous layer, commonly known as mother of pearl. This smooths the shell and defends against parasites and damaging detritus by entombing them in successive layers of nacre, forming a pearl. Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between Organisms of different Species. A pearl is a hard roundish object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled Mollusk. The process is called is encystation and continues while the mollusk lives.

Chief sources are the pearl oyster, found in warm and tropical seas, primarily in Asia; freshwater pearl mussels, which live in many rivers of the United States, Europe, and Asia; and the abalone of California, Japan, and other Pacific regions. The common name oyster is used for a number of different groups of Bivalve Mollusks most of which live in marine habitats or Brackish water. Freshwater pearls are a kind of Pearl that comes from freshwater Mussels They are produced in Japan and the United States on a limited scale The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Abalone (from Spanish Abulón) are medium-sized to very large edible sea Snails marine Gastropod Mollusks in the California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions

Decorative uses

Inlay with nacre tesserae
Bagdad pavilion, Topkapı Palace, Istanbul

Both black and white mother of pearl are used for architectural purposes. The Topkapı Palace (Topkapı Sarayı or in Ottoman: طوبكابي بالاذيis a palace in Istanbul, Turkey, which was the official and Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation The natural mother of pearl may be artificially tinted to almost any color. Mother of pearl tesserae may be cut into shapes and laminated to a ceramic tile or marble base. The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός ( keramikos) A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as Ceramic, stone, metal or even Glass. Marble is a nonfoliated Metamorphic rock resulting from the Metamorphism of Limestone, composed mostly of Calcite (a crystalline form of The tesserae are hand-placed and closely sandwiched together, creating an irregular mosaic or pattern (such as a weave). The laminated material is typically 1/16 of an inch thick. Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. The tesserae are then lacquered and polished creating a durable, glossy hard surface.

Instead of using a marble or tile base, the mother of pearl tesserae can be glued to a fiberglass mesh. Fiberglass (also called fibreglass and glass fibre see Spelling differences) is material made from extremely fine Fibers of Glass. The result is a lightweight material that offers a seamless installation, and there is no limit to the sheet size. Mother of pearl sheets may be used on interior floors, exterior and interior walls, countertops, doors and ceilings. Insertion into architectural elements, such as columns or furniture is easily accomplished.

Clothes & accessories

Mother of pearl buttons can be found on a variety of clothing such as shirts, skirts and coats. Nacre is also used as a decorative feature of watch faces and jewelry. It is well valued in society and a sign of wealth.

Musical instruments

Key touches and various decorations on musical instruments such as saxophones, trumpets, violins, banjos, tamburitzas and guitars are sometimes made of mother of pearl. The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member The banjo is a Stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments The Tamburitza ( Croatian: Tamburica, meaning Little Tambura) is a String instrument popular in the traditional folk music The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles It is used as inlays on many guitar fretboards e. g. the Gibson J-200 and to spectacular effect on the Gibson Dove. Gibson J-200 ( Super Jumbo 200) is an Acoustic guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. The Gibson Dove is a flattop Steel-string acoustic guitar made by Gibson Guitar Corporation. Synthetic key touches made of Pyralin or similar imitation nacre materials have been affectionately referred to as mother of toilet seat by musicians. A toilet seat is the seat and lid of a Toilet bowl. It consists of the seat itself which is contoured for the user to sit on the toilet and the lid which covers

References

• Lin, A. ; Meyers, M. A. (2005-01-15). "Growth and structure in abalone shell". Materials Science and Engineering A 390: 27–41. Materials Science or Materials Engineering is an interdisciplinary field involving the properties of matter and its applications to various areas of Science and doi:10.1016/j.msea.2004.06.072. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.  
• Mayer, G. (2005). "Rigid biological systems as models for synthetic composites". Science 310: 1144–1147. doi:10.1126/science.1116994. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.  
• Bruet, B. ; et al. (September 2005). "Nanoscale morphology and indentation of individual nacre tablets from the gastropod mollusc Trochus niloticus". J. Mater. Res. 20 (9): 2400. doi:10.1557/JMR.2005.0273. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.  

See also

• Ammolite
• Pearl
• Raden