What is "phenyl salicylate"

n. a white powder with a pleasant taste and odor; used to absorb light in sun tan lotions or as a preservative or an antiseptic or a coating for pills in which the medicine is intended for enteric release [syn: salol]

Phenyl salicylate, or salol, is a chemical substance, introduced in 1886 by Marceli Nencki of Basel. It can be created by heating salicylic acid with phenol. Once used in sunscreens, phenyl salicylate is now used in the manufacture of some polymers, lacquers, adhesives, waxes and polishes. It is also used frequently in school laboratory demonstrations on how cooling rates affect crystal size in igneous rocks.