The word paraffin was coined by German scientist Karl von Reichenbach in 1830. Writing in an academic journal he fused the Latin words parum (little) and affinis (related) to describe this white, waxy substance which is formed as a by-product during the refinery of petrol. Von Reichenbach chose these Latin origins to underline the essential neutrality and low chemical reactivity of paraffin. The word was adopted into English almost immediately, and the substance itself soon became an everyday staple across a diverse range of products.
Paraffin has no taste or smell and doesn’t dissolve in water, but is soluble in ether. This combination of properties makes it an invaluable component in hundreds of daily applications including chewing gum, cheese rinds, matches, detergents, chocolate, fertilisers, candles, printing ink, cosmetics and skateboards.
Today approximately 3.5 million tonnes of normal paraffin are produced each year, and the product is a key export for many economies. In 2012, with its trade figures falling for many products and markets, China exported almost half a millions tonnes of paraffin.
Von Reichenbach, who also invented the first synthetic dye, was a prominent member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, one of the most renowned institutions of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Other distinguished members included Albert Einstein, and another rather morbid link between the two men has been discovered. Encasing the human brain in paraffin wax is one of the best ways of preserving it for scientific research, and a neurologist in the United States was recently found to have a preserved slice of Einstein’s brain on his office desk. Karl von Reichenbach was a man of vision, but we doubt that he anticipated this particular use for the product.
