After the monkey lips generate sound waves, the oil-filled organ in the whale’s head focuses them, researchers believe. Acting like a giant acoustic lens, muscles alter the organ’s shape to focus the sound and perhaps scan the surrounding waters. It’s not only sperm whales that have this oil-filled organ.
What is a sperm whale?
The name “sperm whale” comes from the substance found in an organ in the whale’s head that is full of spermaceti oil. This oil has a white semi-liquid appearance and early whalers in the early 19 th century believed it was the whale’s stash of sperm.
Why does a whale have a Head Full of oil?
Scientists are still unsure why they have a “head full of oil” but have a few speculations. The spermaceti organ is enormous and located in the top half of the whale’s head and continues back to almost half of the whale’s body covering 40% of its body.
Is sperm oil from whales legal?
With the 1987 international ban on whaling, sperm oil is no longer legally sold. The oil from bottlenose whales was sometimes called "Arctic sperm oil". It was cheaper and inferior to true sperm oil. Sperm oil is extracted from the spermaceti organ and the junk of the sperm whale.
What is Arctic sperm oil?
The oil from bottlenose whales was sometimes called "Arctic sperm oil". It was cheaper and inferior to true sperm oil. Sperm oil is extracted from the spermaceti organ and the junk of the sperm whale.
What is the oil in a sperm whale's head?
spermacetispermaceti, a wax, liquid at body temperature, obtained from the head of a sperm whale or bottlenose whale. Spermaceti was used chiefly in ointments, cosmetic creams, fine wax candles, pomades, and textile finishing; later it was used for industrial lubricants.
Why do whales contain oil?
Unlike some fish, which use the oil to store energy for seasonal movements, whales store most of their energy as blubber. The liver oil of fish also contributes significantly to their buoyancy; however, as air-breathing mammals, whales carry large lungs full of air, which help them to float.
What do sperm whales have in their heads?
Sperm Whale | National Geographic. Sperm whales' heads are filled with a mysterious substance called spermaceti. Scientists have yet to understand its function, but believe it may help the animal regulate its buoyancy.
Does a sperm whale have oil?
Sperm oil is a waxy liquid obtained from sperm whales. It is a clear, yellowish liquid with a very faint odor. Sperm oil has a different composition from common whale oil, obtained from rendered blubber.
What does whale oil smell like?
Like sperm oil, it burns clear, bright, and with no odor, but because it is a wax, it was used primarily in candles rather than oil lamps.
How much was whale oil worth?
It was prized as an incredibly clean and bright burning candle wax, cosmetic stock, and soap component. All combined, the many uses of whale oil allowed one standard 31.5 gallon barrel of crude whale oil to be worth about $25 in 1902 - or about $700 in today's dollars.
Does NASA use whale oil?
Since then NASA has conducted additional investigations into its other programs and has found no evidence of whale oil being used.
What is the loudest animal in the world?
the sperm whaleBut the loudest is the sperm whale. It makes a series of clicking noises that can reach as high as 230 db making it the loudest animal in the world.
How do you get oil out of a whale?
Whale oil was obtained by boiling strips of blubber harvested from whales. The removal is known as flensing and the boiling process was called trying out. The boiling was carried out on land in the case of whales caught close to shore or beached.
What do we use whale oil for?
Whale oil has been used as an ingredient in soap, explosives, and even margarine.
Does NASA use whale oil?
Back in the day, NASA used whale oil as a lubricant in their space program, including the ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) for expeditions to the Moon and Mars. Fast forward to the future and whale oil is still being used to lubricate spacecraft such as the Hubble space telescope and the Voyager space probe.
What is whale fat used for?
Whale oil was a primary ingredient in soap, margarine, and oil-burning lamps. Today, some indigenous Arctic communities, such as the Inuit, still harvest blubber and render it for use in traditional whale-oil lamps. The whaling industry dwindled as petroleum and natural gas replaced whale oil as a major fuel source.
How many gallons of oil are in a whale?
35 gallons (approx.) Ellis (1980) in his glossary states that a whale oil barrel of approximately 35 gallons is a unit of measurement. In the early days of the fishery, the ship's carpenter might have been an influence on the size of actual whale oil barrels, if they were made at sea.
What is sperm whale oil?
Raw spermaceti is liquid within 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 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.
How is sperm wax extracted?
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.
What is spermaceti wax?
Spermaceti. A spermaceti wax candle and bottle of sperm oil. Spermaceti (from Greek sperma meaning "seed", and ceti, the genitive form of "whale") 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.
Why is Spermaceti important?
In prior centuries it was important enough to send thousands of mariners in search of the sperm whale in an effort to harvest the head. 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 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.
What temperature does Spermaceti wax melt?
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).
How much wax is in whale oil?
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 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.
What is the botanical alternative to Spermaceti?
A botanical alternative to spermaceti is a derivative of jojoba oil, jojoba esters, C 19 H 41 COO-C 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.
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Martin Harris is a former science teacher and inventor who holds patents on optical devices used in cancer detection.
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What is the spermaceti organ?
Spermaceti is a liquid wax, composed mostly of wax esters (chiefly cetyl palmitate) and a smaller proportion of triglycerides, with oleic acid being the most common fatty acid. The proportion 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. The blubber oil of the whale is about 66% wax. When cooled to below 30 °C (86 °F), the waxes in spermaceti begin to crystallize.
How much wax is in whale blubber oil?
The blubber oil of the whale is about 66% wax. When cooled to below 30 °C, the waxes in spermaceti begin to crystallize. Winter-strained sperm oil is roughly two-thirds wax esters and one third triglycerides. Most of the carbon chains are unsaturated, with 18:1 being the most common.
What is sperm oil?
Sperm oil. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jump to navigation Jump to search. Sperm oil is a waxy liquid obtained from sperm whales. It is a clear, yellowish liquid with a very faint odor. Sperm oil has a different composition from common whale oil, obtained from rendered blubber. Although it is traditionally called an "oil", ...
Where is sperm oil extracted?
Processing. Sperm oil is extracted from the spermaceti organ and the junk of the sperm whale. After killing a sperm whale, the whalers would pull the carcass alongside the main whaleship with the capture boat, or the whaleship would sail to the floating carcass if the weather conditions were favorable. The whale was then fastened ...
Why is whale oil used in cars?
In the US, whale oil was used in cars as an additive to automatic transmission fluid until it was banned by the Endangered Species Act. Prior to 1972, over 30 million lb (14 million kg) of sperm whale oil was used annually in lubricants because of its exceptional lubricity and heat stability.
Why is sperm oil used in aerospace?
Because of its very low freezing point, sperm oil saw widespread use in the aerospace industry.
How long did it take to process a whale?
The process could take from several hours to several days, depending on the size and species of the whale, the skill of the crew, and the weather.
What did whalers use spermaceti oil for?
Sperm whale and her calf swimming at the surface, Indian Ocean, Mauritius.
Why not change the name of the sperm whale now that we know?
There are all kinds of animals that have been misnamed and few lawyers fighting on their behalf. Think about the cousin of the sperm whale, the killer whale. Killer whales are actually a part of the dolphin family and may not appreciate their aggressive namesake.
Overview
Spermaceti 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.
The whaling industry in the 17th and 18th centuries was developed to find, har…
Etymology
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.
Properties
Raw spermaceti is liquid within 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 (C10–C22). The blubber oil of the whale is about 66% wax. When it cools to 30 °C or below, the …
Biological function
Currently there is disagreement 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 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 s…
Spermaceti processing
After killing 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 gallons. The spermaceti was boiled and strained of impurities to prevent it from going rancid. On land, the casks were allowed to chill during the winter, causin…
Gallery
• Processing of spermaceti
• 1864 illustration captioned: "Removing the spermaceti from the head of the cachelot, or sperm whale"
• A whaler bailing spermaceti from the severed head of a sperm whale (1874 illustration).
See also
• Whale oil
Further reading
• Carrier, David R.; Deban, Stephen M.; Otterstrom, Jason (2002). "The face that sank the Essex: potential function of the spermaceti organ in aggression" (PDF). Journal of Experimental Biology. 205 (Pt 12): 1755–1763. doi:10.1242/jeb.205.12.1755. PMID 12042334.
• Dolin, Eric Jay (2007). Leviathan, The History of Whaling in America. W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 978-0-393-06057-7.