What is a rubber in science?

Rubber is a specific type of polymer called an elastomer: a large molecule that can be stretched to at least twice its original length and returned to its original shape. Since that time, rubber has become an important natural polymer in society.

What is rubber and how is it made?

Natural rubber is made by extracting a liquid sap, called latex, from certain types of tree. There are over 2,500 types of tree that produce this sap (including plants like dandelions), but the overwhelming majority of latex for rubber production stems from the Hevea brasiliensis tree, or the aptly named rubber tree.

What is the uses of rubber?

The largest consumers of rubber are tires and tubes, followed by general rubber goods. Other significant uses of rubber are hoses, belts, matting, flooring, medical gloves and much more. Rubber is also used as adhesives in many products and industrial applications.

What is rubber and its types?

Technically speaking, rubber is a natural polymer of Isoprene (usually cis-1,4-polyisoprene). It is hydrocarbon polymer occurring as milky latex in the sap of various plants and can also be made synthetically. The type of rubber which is produced artificially is called synthetic rubber.

Where is rubber found?

Rubber trees are grown in regions that are hot and moist, that is: in Africa (250 000 tons of natural rubber); in Central and South America (31 700 tons of natural rubber) in Asia, which is the chief producer (3 207 100 tons of natural rubber).

What is made of rubber?

Natural rubber is produced by the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis). Other products made of natural rubber are e.g. mattresses, condoms, shoe soles, hot water bottles, balloons, rubber boots and seal rings. Natural rubber can be substituted by synthetic rubber for some applications.

How is rubber useful?

Natural rubber is one of the most important polymers for human society. Natural rubber is an essential raw material used in the creation of more than 40,000 products. It is used in medical devices, surgical gloves, aircraft and car tires, pacifiers, clothes, toys, etc.