Camphor vs. Mothball: What's the Difference?

Main Difference

The main difference between Camphor and Mothball is that the Camphor is a group of stereoisomers and Mothball is a mothballs.

• Camphor

  Camphor () is a waxy, flammable, white or transparent solid with a strong aroma. It is a terpenoid with the chemical formula C10H16O. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora), a large evergreen tree found in Asia (particularly in Sumatra and Borneo islands, Indonesia) and also of the unrelated kapur tree, a tall timber tree from the same region. It also occurs in some other related trees in the laurel family, notably Ocotea usambarensis. The oil in rosemary leaves (Rosmarinus officinalis), in the mint family, contains 10 to 20% camphor, while camphorweed (Heterotheca) only contains some 5%. Camphor can also be synthetically produced from oil of turpentine. It is used for its scent, as an ingredient in cooking (mainly in India), as an embalming fluid, for medicinal purposes, and in religious ceremonies. A major source of camphor in Asia is camphor basil (the parent of African blue basil).

  The molecule has two possible enantiomers as shown in the structural diagrams. The structure on the left is the naturally occurring (R)-form, while its mirror image shown on the right is the (S)-form.

• Mothball

  Mothballs are small balls of chemical pesticide and deodorant, sometimes used when storing clothing and other articles susceptible to damage from mold or moth larvae (especially clothes moths like Tineola bisselliella). Use of mothballs when clothing is stored out of season has given rise to the colloquial usage of the terms “mothballed” and “put into mothballs”, to refer to anything which is put into storage or whose operation is suspended.

• Camphor (noun)

  A white transparent waxy crystalline isoprenoid ketone, 1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-one, with a strong pungent odour, used in pharmacy.

• Mothball (noun)

  a small ball of chemical pesticide and deodorant placed in or around clothing and other articles susceptible to damage from mold or moth larvae in order to protect them from this damage; mothballs have either naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene as their active ingredient.

• Mothball (verb)

  To store or shelve (something no longer used).

  “They mothballed the old version after the new one came out.”

• Mothball (verb)

  To stop using (something), but keep it in good condition.

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