nacre

Example Sentences

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However, the exact processes and conditions that lead to nacre, a composite of biopolymers and platelets of crystalline calcium carbonate, are the subject of intense debate among experts, and different theories exist.

From Science Daily • Jan. 12, 2024

Dull on the outside, its nacre gleams pearlescent within.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 14, 2021

Some bivalves like oysters and mussels have the unique ability to secrete and deposit a calcareous nacre or “mother of pearl” around foreign particles that enter the mantle cavity.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

The oyster reacts to the introduction of the foreign body by coating it with layers of nacre - crystallized calcium carbonate and an organic protein.

From BBC • Sep. 9, 2012

The popular belief has been that the pearl was formed by secretions of nacre deposited upon a grain of sand or other foreign particle drawn within the oyster through its contact with the sea's bottom.

From East of Suez Ceylon, India, China and Japan by Penfield, Frederic Courtland