Article
Article
Rubber
Article By:
Partridge, Edward G. Consultant, Redondo Beach, California.
Leucken, John J. Monsanto Company, Akron, Ohio.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.594800
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- Rubber, published June 2014:Download PDF
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A natural or synthetic material that can be stretched at room temperature to at least twice its original length and, after having been stretched and the stress removed, returns with force to approximately its original length in a short time; also known as an elastomer. The term elastomer comes from the contraction of the words elastic and polymer. Three requirements must be met for rubbery properties to be present in both natural and synthetic rubbers: long threadlike molecules, flexibility in the molecular chain to allow flexing and coiling, and some mechanical or chemical bonds (cross-links) between molecules (Fig. 1). See also: Polymer
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