Linseed oil in the context of "Oil paint"

A drying oil is an oil that hardens to a tough, solid film after a period of exposure to air, at room temperature. The oil hardens through a chemical reaction in which the components crosslink (and hence polymerize) by the action of oxygen (not through the evaporation of water or other solvents). Drying oils are a key component of oil paint and some varnishes. Some commonly used drying oils include linseed oil, tung oil, poppy seed oil, perilla oil, castor oil and walnut oil. The use of natural drying oils has declined over the past several decades, as they have been replaced by alkyd resins and other binders.

Since oxidation is the key to curing in these oils, those that are susceptible to chemical drying are often unsuitable for cooking, and are also highly susceptible to becoming rancid through autoxidation, the process by which fatty foods develop off-flavors. Rags, cloth, and paper saturated with drying oils may spontaneously combust (ignite) after a few hours as heat is released during the oxidation process.

Distemper is a decorative paint and a historical medium for painting pictures, and contrasted with tempera. The binder may be glues of vegetable or animal origin (excluding egg). Soft distemper is not abrasion resistant and may include binders such as chalk, ground pigments, and animal glue. Hard distemper is stronger and wear-resistant and can include casein or linseed oil as binders.

Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, Linum usitatissimum, in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of the world's supply of flax.

Textiles made from flax are known in English as linen and are traditionally used for bed sheets, underclothes, and table linen. Its oil is known as linseed oil. In addition to referring to the plant, the word "flax" may refer to the unspun fibers of the flax plant.

Tung oil or China wood oil is a drying oil obtained by pressing the seed from the nut of the tung tree (Vernicia fordii). Tung oil hardens upon exposure to air (through polymerization), and the resulting coating is transparent and has a deep, almost wet look. Used mostly for finishing and protecting wood, after numerous coats, the finish can even look plastic-like. Related drying oils include linseed, safflower, poppy, and soybean oils. Raw tung oil tends to dry to a fine, wrinkled finish. This property was used to make wrinkle finishes, usually by adding excess cobalt drier. To prevent wrinkling, the oil is heated to gas-proof it (also known as "boiled").

"Tung oil finish" is often used by paint and varnish manufacturers as a generic name for any wood-finishing product that contains the real tung oil or provides a finish that resembles the finish obtained with tung oil.

Linoleum is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), pine resin, ground cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a hessian or canvas backing. Pigments are often added to the materials to create the desired color finish. Due to the pigment being mixed directly into the linoleum cement, the finished color of the tile remains visible even after years of wear. In the past some of these pigments were iron oxide, red lead or lithopone.

It gained popularity as a beautiful and easy to clean flooring option in the late 19th century and is still used today. Commercially, the material has been largely replaced by sheet vinyl flooring, a plastic alternative made of polyvinyl-chloride, though many still call it linoleum. This is mainly due to the fact that its plastic counterpart is less costly and much faster to produce.

Putty is a material with high plasticity, similar in texture to clay or dough, typically used in domestic construction and repair as a sealant or filler. Although some types of putty (typically those using linseed oil) slowly polymerise and become stiff, many putties can be reworked indefinitely, in contrast to other types of filler which typically set solid relatively rapidly.

The Newton scale is a temperature scale devised by Isaac Newton in 1701. He called his device a "thermometer", but he did not use the term "temperature", speaking of "degrees of heat" (gradus caloris) instead. Newton's publication represents the first attempt to introduce an objective way of measuring (what would come to be called) temperature (alongside the Rømer scale published at nearly the same time). With Newton using melting points of alloys of various metals such as bismuth, lead and tin, he was the first to employ melting or freezing points of metals for a temperature scale. He also contemplated the idea of absolute zero. Newton likely developed his scale for practical use rather than for a theoretical interest in thermodynamics; he had been appointed Warden of the Mint in 1695, and Master of the Mint in 1699, and his interest in the melting points of metals was likely inspired by his duties in connection with the Royal Mint.

Newton used linseed oil as thermometric material and measured its change of volume against his reference points. He set as 0 on his scale "the heat of air in winter at which water begins to freeze" (Calor aeris hyberni ubi aqua incipit gelu rigescere), reminiscent of the standard of the modern Celsius scale (i.e. 0 °N = 0 °C), but he has no single second reference point; he does give the "heat at which water begins to boil" as 33, but this is not a defining reference; the values for body temperature and the freezing and boiling point of water suggest a conversion factor between the Newton and the Celsius scale of between about 3.08 (12 °N = 37 °C) and 3.03 (33 °N = 100 °C) but since the objectively verifiable reference points given result in irreconcilable data (especially for high temperatures), no unambiguous "conversion" between the scales is possible.