Oil
An oil is any
The general definition of oil includes classes of chemical compounds that may be otherwise unrelated in structure, properties, and uses. Oils may be
Etymology
First attested in English 1176, the word oil comes from Old French oile, from Latin oleum,[2] which in turn comes from the Greek ἔλαιον (elaion), "olive oil, oil"[3] and that from ἐλαία (elaia), "olive tree", "olive fruit".[4][5] The earliest attested forms of the word are the Mycenaean Greek 𐀁𐀨𐀺, e-ra-wo and 𐀁𐁉𐀺, e-rai-wo, written in the Linear B syllabic script.[6]
Types
Organic oils
Organic oils are produced in remarkable diversity by plants, animals, and other organisms through natural
Lipids can be classified by the way that they are made by an organism, their chemical structure and their limited solubility in water compared to oils. They have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are considerably lacking in oxygen compared to other organic compounds and minerals; they tend to be relatively nonpolar molecules, but may include both polar and nonpolar regions as in the case of phospholipids and steroids.[7]
Mineral oils
Crude oil, or
Applications
Cooking
Several edible vegetable and animal oils, and also fats, are used for various purposes in cooking and food preparation. In particular, many foods are fried in oil much hotter than boiling water. Oils are also used for flavoring and for modifying the texture of foods (e.g. stir fry). Cooking oils are derived either from animal fat, as butter, lard and other types, or plant oils from olive, maize, sunflower and many other species.[9]
Cosmetics
Oils are applied to hair to give it a lustrous look, to prevent tangles and roughness and to stabilize the hair to promote growth. See hair conditioner.[citation needed]
Religion
Oil has been used throughout history as a religious medium. It is often considered a spiritually purifying agent and is used for anointing purposes. As a particular example, holy anointing oil has been an important ritual liquid for Judaism[10] and Christianity.[11]
Health
Oils have been consumed since ancient times. Oils hold lots of fats and medical properties. A good example is olive oil. Olive oil holds a lot of fats within it which is why it was also used in lighting in ancient Greece and Rome. So people would use it to bulk out food so they would have more energy to burn through the day. Olive oil was also used to clean the body in this time as it would trap the moisture in the skin while pulling the grime to the surface. It was used as an ancient form of unsophisticated soap. It was applied on the skin then scrubbed off with a wooden stick pulling off the excess grime and creating a layer where new grime could form but be easily washed off in the water as oil is hydrophobic.[12] Fish oils hold the omega-3 fatty acid. This fatty acid helps with inflammation and reduces fat in the bloodstream.[citation needed]
Painting
Color
Heat transfer
Oils are used as coolants in oil cooling, for instance in electric transformers. Heat transfer oils are used both as coolants (see oil cooling), for heating (e.g. in oil heaters) and in other applications of heat transfer.[citation needed]
Lubrication
Given that they are non-polar, oils do not easily adhere to other substances. This makes them useful as
It is a long-running myth that spermaceti from whales has still been used in NASA projects such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the Voyager probe because of its extremely low freezing temperature. Spermaceti is not actually an oil, but a mixture mostly of wax esters, and there is no evidence that NASA has used whale oil.[15]
Fuel
Some oils
In the 18th and 19th centuries, whale oil was commonly used for lamps, which was replaced with natural gas and then electricity.[17]
Chemical feedstock
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2017) |
Crude oil can be refined into a wide variety of component
Organic oils are another important chemical feedstock, especially in green chemistry.
See also
- Emulsifier, a chemical which allows oil and water to mix
References
- ^ "oil". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- Perseus Project.
- Perseus Project.
- ^ ἐλαία in Liddell and Scott.
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "oil". Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ "The Linear B word e-ra-wo". Palaeolexicon. Word study tool of ancient languages. "e-ra3-wo". Archived from the original on 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2014-03-22. Raymoure, K.A. "e-ra-wo". Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B. Deaditerranean. Archived from the original on 2016-03-20. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ Alberts, Bruce; Johnson, Alexander; Lewis, Julian; Raff, Martin; Roberts, Keith; Walter, Peter. Molecular Biology of the Cell. New York: Garland Science, 2002, pp. 62, 118-119.
- ^
Kvenvolden, Keith A. (2006). "Organic geochemistry – A retrospective of its first 70 years". Organic Geochemistry. 37 (1): 1. S2CID 95305299.
- ^ Brown, Jessica. "Which cooking oil is the healthiest?". www.bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- S2CID 161240989.
- ^ Sahagun, Louis (2008-10-11). "Armenian priests journey for jars of holy oil". Los Angeles Times.
- ISSN 2071-1050.
- ^ "Oldest Oil Paintings Found in Afghanistan", Rosella Lorenzi, Discovery News. February 19, 2008. Archived June 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Bavarian Clock Haus and Frankenmuth Clock Company". Frankenmuth Clock Company & Bavarian Clock Haus.
- ^ "Troubled waters: Who Would Believe NASA Used Whale Oil on Voyager and Hubble?". Knight Science Journalism at MIT. Archived from the original on 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2015-02-15.
- ^ a b U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Archived 2018-05-02 at the Wayback Machine — Retrieved 2011-10-02.
- ^ "Whale Oil". petroleumhistory.org.
- ISBN 9783642384769.
External links
- Media related to Oil at Wikimedia Commons