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39-584: Restored in 2005, the Nantucket Whaling Museum has an expanded exhibit and program space that connects the 1847 Hadwen & Barney Oil and Candle Factory and the 1971 Peter Foulger Museum. The new structure includes the Gosnell Hall Whale Hunt Gallery, where a 46 foot (14 meter) long sperm whale skeleton is suspended from the ceiling. The Hadwen & Barney Oil and Candle Factory, featuring the massive lever press,

78-520: A scrimshaw and decorative arts gallery and galleries for changing exhibits about Nantucket life, arts, and ideas. Spermaceti Spermaceti / s p ɜː m ə ˈ s iː t i / is a waxy substance found in the head cavities of the sperm whale (and, in smaller quantities, in the oils of other whales). Spermaceti is created in the spermaceti organ inside the whale's head. This organ may contain as much as 1,900 litres (500 US gal) of spermaceti. It has been extracted by whalers since

117-440: A coating for many cheeses , and to waterproof leather and fabric. Wax has been used since antiquity as a temporary, removable model in lost-wax casting of gold , silver and other materials. Wax with colorful pigments added has been used as a medium in encaustic painting , and is used today in the manufacture of crayons , china markers and colored pencils . Carbon paper , used for making duplicate typewritten documents

156-431: A flash point >500 °F (>260 °C). Many polyethylene resin plants produce a low molecular weight stream often referred to as low polymer wax (LPW). LPW is unrefined and contains volatile oligomers, corrosive catalyst and may contain other foreign material and water. Refining of LPW to produce a polyethylene wax involves removal of oligomers and hazardous catalyst. Proper refining of LPW to produce polyethylene wax

195-491: A harvested sperm whale accurately described the age and future life expectancy of a given individual. The level of wax esters in the spermaceti organ increases with the age of the whale: 38–51% in calves, 58–87% in adult females, and 71–94% in adult males. Spermaceti wax is extracted from sperm oil by crystallisation at 6 °C (43 °F), when treated by pressure and a chemical solution of caustic alkali . Spermaceti forms brilliant white crystals that are hard but oily to

234-477: A library room, office space, and more room to store collections. The NHA library and artifact collections were housed in their own dedicated buildings in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, freeing up the Broad Street compound for improvement. A new museum was designed, incorporating the 1847 Hadwen & Barney Oil and Candle Factory and the 1971 Peter Foulger Museum on the opposite corner of

273-416: A means of adjusting the whale's buoyancy , since the density of the spermaceti changes with its phase. Another hypothesis has been that it is used as a cushion to protect the sperm whale's delicate snout while diving. The most likely primary function of the spermaceti organ is to add internal echo or resonator clicks to the sonar echolocation clicks emitted by the respiratory organs. This makes possible

312-432: A significant fraction of petroleum. They are refined by vacuum distillation . Paraffin waxes are mixtures of saturated n- and iso- alkanes , naphthenes , and alkyl - and naphthene-substituted aromatic compounds. A typical alkane paraffin wax chemical composition comprises hydrocarbons with the general formula C n H 2 n +2 , such as hentriacontane , C 31 H 64 . The degree of branching has an important influence on

351-409: A single, pure spermaceti candle. Spermaceti is derived from Medieval Latin sperma ceti , meaning "whale sperm " (from Latin sperma meaning " semen " or "seed", and ceti , the genitive form of "whale"). The substance was initially believed to be whale semen , due to its appearance when fresh. The substance is also the origin of the name of the sperm whale . Raw spermaceti is liquid within

390-461: A sperm whale, the whalers would pull the carcass alongside the ship, cut off the head and pull it on deck. Then, they would cut a hole in it and bail out the matter inside with a bucket. The harvested matter, raw spermaceti, was stored in casks to be processed back on land. A large whale could yield as much as 500 US gallons (1,900 L; 420 imp gal). The spermaceti was boiled and strained of impurities to prevent it from going rancid. On land,

429-414: A variety of fatty acids and carboxylic alcohols. In waxes of plant origin, characteristic mixtures of unesterified hydrocarbons may predominate over esters. The composition depends not only on species, but also on geographic location of the organism. The best-known animal wax is beeswax , used in constructing the honeycombs of beehives, but other insects also secrete waxes. A major component of beeswax

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468-604: A whaleboat fitted out for action were enlivened with the whaling tableaux and commentary of “custodian” George Grant. The collections of the NHA continued to expand in the twentieth century. While the Whaling Museum featured the industry that made Nantucket an internationally recognized name in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Fair Street Museum showcased artifacts that told the story of island life, and

507-524: Is 2,684 m/s (at 40 kHz, 36 °C), making it nearly twice as good a conductor of sounds as the oil in a dolphin's melon . Spermaceti is insoluble in water, very slightly soluble in cold ethanol , but easily dissolved in ether , chloroform , carbon disulfide , and boiling ethanol. Spermaceti consists principally of cetyl palmitate (the ester of cetyl alcohol and palmitic acid ), C 15 H 31 COOC 16 H 33 . Simple triglycerides are seen as well. A botanical alternative to spermaceti

546-490: Is a derivative of jojoba oil , jojoba esters , C 19 H 41 COOC 20 H 41 , a solid wax, which is chemically and physically very similar to spermaceti and may be used in many of the same applications. Currently, disagreement exists on what biological purpose or purposes spermaceti serves. The proportion of wax esters retained by an average (living) whale head appears to reflect buoyancy influenced by heat. Changes in density likely enhance echolocation. It might be used as

585-924: Is a fossilized wax extracted from coal and lignite . It is very hard, reflecting the high concentration of saturated fatty acids and alcohols. Although dark brown and odorous, they can be purified and bleached to give commercially useful products. As of 1995 , about 200 million kilograms of polyethylene waxes were consumed annually. Polyethylene waxes are manufactured by one of three methods: Each production technique generates products with slightly different properties. Key properties of low molecular weight polyethylene waxes are viscosity, density and melt point. Polyethylene waxes produced by means of degradation or recovery from polyethylene resin streams contain very low molecular weight materials that must be removed to prevent volatilization and potential fire hazards during use. Polyethylene waxes manufactured by this method are usually stripped of low molecular weight fractions to yield

624-455: Is especially important when being used in applications requiring FDA or other regulatory certification. Waxes are mainly consumed industrially as components of complex formulations, often for coatings. The main use of polyethylene and polypropylene waxes is in the formulation of colourants for plastics. Waxes confer matting effects (i.e., to confer non-glossy finishes) and wear resistance to paints. Polyethylene waxes are incorporated into inks in

663-871: Is frequently used as a lubricant on drawer slides where wood to wood contact occurs. Sealing wax was used to close important documents in the Middle Ages . Wax tablets were used as writing surfaces. There were different types of wax in the Middle Ages, namely four kinds of wax ( Ragusan , Montenegro , Byzantine , and Bulgarian ), "ordinary" waxes from Spain , Poland , and Riga , unrefined waxes and colored waxes (red, white, and green). Waxes are used to make waxed paper , impregnating and coating paper and card to waterproof it or make it resistant to staining, or to modify its surface properties. Waxes are also used in shoe polishes , wood polishes , and automotive polishes, as mold release agents in mold making , as

702-509: Is interpreted as an industrial site where the complicated process of refining oil and making spermaceti candles is explained, along with the other Nantucket industries that arose from the whaling era. Eleven galleries and exhibit spaces featuring artifacts and art pertaining to Nantucket life, art, and ideas are on display. In 2008, the Whaling Museum received accreditation from the American Association of Museums. The museum

741-425: Is myricyl palmitate which is an ester of triacontanol and palmitic acid . Its melting point is 62–65 °C (144–149 °F). Spermaceti occurs in large amounts in the head oil of the sperm whale . One of its main constituents is cetyl palmitate , another ester of a fatty acid and a fatty alcohol . Lanolin is a wax obtained from wool, consisting of esters of sterols . Plants secrete waxes into and on

780-420: The 17th century for human use in cosmetics, textiles, and candles. Theories for the spermaceti organ's biological function suggest that it may control buoyancy , act as a focusing apparatus for the whale's sense of echolocation , or possibly both. Concrete evidence supports both theories. The buoyancy theory holds that the sperm whale is capable of heating the spermaceti, lowering its density and thus allowing

819-527: The Brazilian palm Copernicia prunifera . Containing the ester myricyl cerotate, it has many applications, such as confectionery and other food coatings, car and furniture polish, floss coating, and surfboard wax . Other more specialized vegetable waxes include jojoba oil , candelilla wax and ouricury wax . Plant and animal based waxes or oils can undergo selective chemical modifications to produce waxes with more desirable properties than are available in

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858-472: The Coffin School, a Greek Revival-style brick building built on Winter Street in 1852 with funds donated by Sir Isaac Coffin, a British admiral descended from Tristram Coffin. Admiral Folger’s gift was received in 1968, after the death of his last surviving beneficiary, and following his wishes, the building at the corner of Broad and North Water streets was completed in 1971, providing new exhibit halls,

897-459: The NHA’s house museums interpreted domestic life during successive historical eras. Space to preserve and exhibit the relics of an earlier age was always at a premium, but Admiral William Mayhew Folger, a descendant of early settler Peter Foulger, left a bequest to the NHA in 1929 that honored his ancestor. He specifically required the NHA to use the funds from his bequest to construct a building similar to

936-689: The Thomas Macy Warehouse on Straight Wharf) was originally the core of a complex of buildings devoted to oil processing and candle manufacturing, supplying oil for street lamps in London and Paris and lighthouses along the Atlantic coast of the United States. After the local whaling industry failed, the last whaling ship sailed from Nantucket in 1869, the building was used as a warehouse, and much later as an antiques shop. In 1929, it

975-474: The block as part of a new site that bridged the two buildings with exhibit and program space, including Gosnell Hall, where a forty-foot-long sperm-whale skeleton is suspended from the ceiling. The Hadwen & Barney Oil and Candle Factory, featuring the massive lever-press, is interpreted as an industrial site where the complicated process of refining oil and making spermaceti candles is explained. New exhibition spaces extend above and around Gosnell Hall, including

1014-399: The casks were allowed to chill during the winter, causing the spermaceti to congeal into a spongy and viscous mass. The congealed matter was then loaded into wool sacks and placed in a press to squeeze out the liquid. This liquid was bottled and sold as "winter-strained sperm oil". This was the most valuable product - an oil that remained liquid in freezing winter temperatures. Later, during

1053-581: The contents of the head of a sperm whale. The crews seeking spermaceti routinely left on three-year tours on several oceans. Cetaceous lamp oil was a commodity that created many maritime fortunes. Candlepower , a photometric unit defined in the United Kingdom Act of Parliament Metropolitan Gas Act 1860 and adopted at the International Electrotechnical Conference of 1883, was based on the light produced by

1092-493: The form of dispersions to decrease friction. They are employed as release agents , find use as slip agents in furniture, and confer corrosion resistance. Waxes such as paraffin wax or beeswax , and hard fats such as tallow are used to make candles , used for lighting and decoration. Another fuel type used in candle manufacturing includes soy . Soy wax is made by the hydrogenation process using soybean oil. Waxes are used as finishes and coatings for wood products. Beeswax

1131-453: The head of the sperm whale, and is said to have a smell similar to raw milk. It is composed mostly of wax esters (chiefly cetyl palmitate ) and a smaller proportion of triglycerides . Unlike other toothed whales, most of the carbon chains in the wax esters are relatively long ( C 10 −C 22 ). The blubber oil of the whale is about 66% wax. When it cools to 30 °C or below, the waxes begin to solidify. The speed of sound in spermaceti

1170-404: The properties. Microcrystalline wax is a lesser produced petroleum based wax that contains higher percentage of isoparaffinic (branched) hydrocarbons and naphthenic hydrocarbons. Millions of tons of paraffin waxes are produced annually. They are used in foods (such as chewing gum and cheese wrapping), in candles and cosmetics, as non-stick and waterproofing coatings and in polishes. Montan wax

1209-408: The surface of their cuticles as a way to control evaporation, wettability and hydration. The epicuticular waxes of plants are mixtures of substituted long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, containing alkanes, alkyl esters, fatty acids, primary and secondary alcohols, diols , ketones and aldehydes. From the commercial perspective, the most important plant wax is carnauba wax , a hard wax obtained from

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1248-415: The touch, and are devoid of taste or smell, making it very useful as an ingredient in cosmetics, leatherworking, and lubricants. The substance was also used in making candles of a standard photometric value, in the dressing of fabrics, and as a pharmaceutical excipient , especially in cerates and ointments . The whaling industry in the 17th and 18th centuries was developed to find, harvest, and refine

1287-410: The unmodified starting material. This approach has relied on green chemistry approaches including olefin metathesis and enzymatic reactions and can be used to produce waxes from inexpensive starting materials like vegetable oils. Although many natural waxes contain esters, paraffin waxes are hydrocarbons, mixtures of alkanes usually in a homologous series of chain lengths. These materials represent

1326-1447: The warmer seasons, the leftover solid was allowed to partially melt, and the liquid was strained off to leave a fully solid wax. This wax, brown in color, was then bleached and sold as "spermaceti wax". Spermaceti wax is white and translucent. It melts at about 50 °C (122 °F) and congeals at 45 °C (113 °F). Wax Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic , malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids , typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low viscosity liquids. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in nonpolar organic solvents such as hexane , benzene and chloroform . Natural waxes of different types are produced by plants and animals and occur in petroleum . Waxes are organic compounds that characteristically consist of long aliphatic alkyl chains, although aromatic compounds may also be present. Natural waxes may contain unsaturated bonds and include various functional groups such as fatty acids , primary and secondary alcohols , ketones , aldehydes and fatty acid esters . Synthetic waxes often consist of homologous series of long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons ( alkanes or paraffins) that lack functional groups . Waxes are synthesized by many plants and animals. Those of animal origin typically consist of wax esters derived from

1365-404: The whale sensing the motion of its prey and its position. The changing distance to the prey affects the time interval between the returning clicks reflected by the prey. This would explain the low density and high compressibility of the spermaceti, which enhance the resonance by the contrast of the acoustic properties of the sea water and of the hard tissue surrounding the spermaceti. After killing

1404-437: The whale to float; for the whale to sink again, it must take water into its blowhole, which cools the spermaceti into a denser solid. This claim has been called into question by recent research that indicates a lack of biological structures to support this heat exchange, and the fact that the change in density is too small to be meaningful until the organ grows to a huge size. Measurement of the proportion of wax esters retained by

1443-440: Was coated with carbon black suspended in wax, typically montan wax , but has largely been superseded by photocopiers and computer printers . In another context, lipstick and mascara are blends of various fats and waxes colored with pigments, and both beeswax and lanolin are used in other cosmetics . Ski wax is used in skiing and snowboarding . Also, the sports of surfing and skateboarding often use wax to enhance

1482-568: Was purchased by the Nantucket Historical Association to house a collection of whaling artifacts donated by Edward F. Sanderson , a Congregational minister . The Whaling Museum opened in the Hadwen & Barney Oil and Candle Factory in 1930, with Sanderson’s collection of whaling implements and other material relating to the industry displayed in the refinery building. Harpoons, lances, blubber hooks, cutting spades, and

1521-515: Was reaccredited in 2017. William Hadwen and Nathaniel Barney were partners in a whale-oil manufacturing firm on the island in the mid-19th century, Hadwen & Barney. In 1848, they purchased the oil and candle factory building on Broad Street at the head of New North Wharf (now Steamboat Wharf) built by Richard Mitchell & Sons in 1847, a year after the Great Fire swept through the area. The Greek Revival -style industrial building (similar to

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