Rubber Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rubber - Research Paper Example â€Å"Rubber is also useful as an adhesive, a coating composition, a fiber, a moulding compound and an electrical insulator.† (Rubber)Apart from natural rubber, artificial rubber also invented later. The history and background of rubber can be an interesting topic because of the conspiracy about the origin of rubber. â€Å"Until recently, modern thinkers believed rubber originated in 19th century Europe. According to a Tech Talk article published by Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday, July 14, 1999, Professor Dorothy Hosler, Assistant Professor Sandra Burkett and an undergraduate named Michael Tarkanian learned that the Mayan people in ancient Mesoamerica made and used rubber as long ago as 1600 BCE.† (Snider) Though the extensive use of rubber just like at present was not known to the Mesoamericans. The first use for rubber was an eraser. It was Magellan, a descendent of the famous Portuguese navigator, who suggested this use (Brief History & Introduction of Rubber) Still rubber is used as an eraser and there are not much substitutes or competition for rubber in this area also. In fact the peculiar thing about rubber is that there is no substitute for many uses of rubber. For example, for tire making, tube making or for an eraser making we don’t have any other subs tances to replace rubber. In 1839, Charles Goodyear accidentally dropped rubber and sulfur on a hot stovetop, causing it to char like leather yet remain plastic and elastic. Vulcanization, a refined version of this process, transformed the white sap from the bark of the Hevea tree into an essential product for the industrial age (Butler) The modern methods of vulcanization of rubber has invented later. The vulcanization character of rubber is made use in the making of tires, tubes and many other material manufacturing. Vulcanization makes rubber material harder, much more durable and also more resistant to chemical attack. Vulcanization of rubber is done by mixing of