What is Rubber: Definition and 253 Discussions

Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, caucho, or caoutchouc, as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds, plus water. Thailand and Indonesia are two of the leading rubber producers. Types of polyisoprene that are used as natural rubbers are classified as elastomers.
Currently, rubber is harvested mainly in the form of the latex from the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) or others. The latex is a sticky, milky and white colloid drawn off by making incisions in the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process called "tapping". The latex then is refined into rubber that is ready for commercial processing. In major areas, latex is allowed to coagulate in the collection cup. The coagulated lumps are collected and processed into dry forms for sale.
Natural rubber is used extensively in many applications and products, either alone or in combination with other materials. In most of its useful forms, it has a large stretch ratio and high resilience, and also is water-proof.

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  1. robphy

    Innovative applications of Rubber Bands (Stanford U.)

    2008 Stanford Innovation Tournament http://eweek.stanford.edu/2008/winners.html Clever and amusing.
  2. S

    Self-healing rubber bounces back

    A material that is able to self-repair even when it is sliced in two has been invented by French researchers. The as-yet-unnamed material - a form of artificial rubber - is made from vegetable oil and a component of urine. The substance, described in the journal Nature, produces surfaces...
  3. A

    Opinions on a rubber vs. solid mounted engine

    Hello, newbie here. I am building a dual purpose (street/strip) twin-turbo 77 T/A. I plan to run a midplate between the bellhousing and the block which ties into the frame. The midplate will react the driveline torque to the frame instead of through the stock mounts, which bolt to the side...
  4. N

    Effects of Attractive Forces on Polymer Rubber Stress-Strain Curve

    1. Suppose a freely orienting chain with 1000 segments each of length 7 AO is subjected to a force on its ends of 10-5 N. What will be the average separation of the chain ends? 2. How large a force is needed to elongate the following piece of polymer to a length of 2.54 cm? Original length =...
  5. J

    Angular Acceleration of a rubber wheel

    A small rubber wheel is used to drive a large pottery wheel. The two wheels are mounted so that their circular edges touch. The small wheel has a radius of 2.0 cm and accelerates at the rate of 7.2 rad/s^2, and it is in contact with the pottery wheel (radius 21.0 cm) without slipping...
  6. P

    Elastic Potential Energy stored in rubber band

    Hello Everyone. It has a year since I have worked with Elastic Potential Energy & I have forgotten the formula to work it out. I have this question and would appreciate it if anyone could tell me how to do it, or tell me the formula of how to work it out. So here it is: Rachel pulls...
  7. A

    Help with Hooke's Law Constant and Rubber Bands

    Help me?? I need to find three different names for the constant between length and force in hooke's law. I also need to find out why, when rubber bands are stretched by force, at a certain force, they actually get shorter. can anyone help?
  8. S

    Separating rubber that is mixed in with stone?

    Just looking for a few idea for me to explore. Basically I have a lump of material that is little bits of stone and rubber stuck together that I need to separate. Any ideas welcome Thanks
  9. N

    A rubber ball thrown to a wall

    Can anybody explain how the momentum is conserved in the case of a rubber ball (bounced back),when it was throwned to a wall?
  10. gabee

    Will the Bug Reach the Other End of the Rubber Band?

    Homework Statement http://www.feynmanlectures.info/exercises/bug_on_band.html An infinitely stretchable rubber band has one end nailed to a wall, while the other end is pulled away from the wall at the rate of 1 m/s; initially the band is 1 meter long. A bug on the rubber band, initially...
  11. marcus

    What expands if there's no rubber?

    A famous Einstein quote: “Dadurch verlieren Zeit & Raum den letzter Rest von physikalischer Realität. ..." “Thereby time and space lose the last vestige of physical reality”. for an online source see page 43 of [PLAIN]www.tc.umn.edu/~janss011/pdf%20files/Besso-memo.pdf[/URL] This source...
  12. ZapperZ

    VOTE Photo Contest - Rubber Eraser

    Considering how quirky the theme is, we have a very good group of pictures for this contest. Please vote for the picture that best represents our theme - Rubber Eraser! 1. Chi Meson 2. scorpa 3. Physics is Phun http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/4233/img2695pm1.jpg 4...
  13. R

    Grounding Cars: Why a Rubber Strip is Needed

    In my physics book it says that friction between cars and air can cause a build up of charge on the vehicle's body and that's why a rubber strip is often connected from the body of the car to the ground - to ground the car. Since the tyres which are rubber are connected to metal which is...
  14. ZapperZ

    PF PHOTO CONTEST - Rubber Eraser (4/14-4/20)

    Rubber Eraser This is silly enough, and trivial enough, that I just HAD to include it in our contest. April 15 is, get this, http://www.holidayinsights.com/other/rubbereraserday.htm" here in the US! Honest! You can't make these things up! So, to mark this joyous occasion (and yes, I'm trying...
  15. S

    Designing a Vehicle Powered by One Rubber Band to Transport an Egg

    i need some help. i am supposed to design a vehicle that is powered only by one standard rubber band to transport an egg to the greatest possible horizontal displacement without breaking the egg. the vehicle can't have any rotating parts. must be constructed from basic parts (ie not...
  16. T

    Designing a 13 Second Flight with a Rubber Band

    im to design something, a plane, or any kind of material to let it stay from the time of release up to it falling into the ground for 13 seconds provided that it is powered by a rubber band... i'm having a hard time thinking about it, having it stay in mid-air longer than usual, and just want...
  17. F

    How to Calculate Tension in a Hanging Block Supported by a Rubber Cord

    Homework Statement So a 2kg block hangs from a rubber cord and it's being supported so that the cord is not stretched. The unstretch length of the cord is .500 meters and its mass is 5.3 grams. The spring constant for the cord is 105 N/m. The block is released and stops at the lowest point...
  18. M

    How Do You Measure Tension in a Rubber Band Wrapped Around a Cylinder?

    If you have a rubber band wrapped around a cylinder, how can you tell the tension in the band? What parameters do you need to know?
  19. daniel_i_l

    Rubber Bands and Heating: Does Weight Go Up or Down?

    Suppose you have a weight hanging from a rubber band and you heat up the rubber band, will the weight go up or down? from grade-school the answer "down" was pounded into my head - obviously - when something is heated it expands! but yesterday i was reading the Feynman lectures and in the...
  20. P

    How Does Shear Modulus Affect the Distance Traveled by a Rubber Sole?

    A child slides across a floor in a pair of rubber-soled shoes. The friction force acting on each foot is 25 N, the cross-sectional area of each foot is 20 cm2, and the height of the soles is 5.0 mm. Find the horizontal distance traveled by the sheared face of the sole. The shear modulus of the...
  21. N

    Distance of an object launched by a rubber band decreases as its mass increases

    I need to prove that the distance of an object launched by a rubber band decreases as its mass increases, algebratically. Can anyone help me? Thanks.
  22. F

    Rubber wheel (angular acceleration)

    A small rubber wheel is used to drive a large pottery wheel, and they are mounted so that their circular edges touch. The small wheel has a radius of 2.0cm and accelerates at the rate of 7.2rad/s^2 and it is in contact with the pottery wheel (radius 25.0cm) without slipping. Calculate: a) the...
  23. J

    Why rubber should be used for plane wheels?

    hi, i am doing a level physics in the uk(first year of the 2), we are doing this big coursework on the materials, where each member of the class is supposed to choose a material and make a big report on it, with plan, report, predictions, and in the end we have to have a microsoft presentation...
  24. N

    Tension Forces and rubber bands

    I am doing some work with tension forces and applying different masses to different items like strings. We did some things with rubber bands too. I am having trouble with one of the questions posed. "In general, in order for a rubber band to pull back, what does it have to do?" I want to...
  25. homology

    Solving a Cute Problem: Rubber Band on a Frictionless Cone

    Here's a cute problem I came across recently. Suppose you have a rubber band with spring constant k, mass m and unstretched radius r. Now suppose you have a frictionless cone and the angle of the peak is 2 \theta (that is, if you project the shape of the cone onto a plane it looks like a...
  26. J

    Rolling Can with Rubber Band and Plasticine

    Imagine that now i have a can. I poke a hole at the centers of both the bottom and the cover of the can. Then i tie a rubber band onto the holes that it goes across the tin from the hole at the bottom to the hole on the cover. After that i stick some plasticine onto the rubber band. When i roll...
  27. M

    Giving blood without the rubber?

    What would happen if you didnt tie that rubber while the needle is in your arm gathering blood. Would it spray a lot faster or not at all?
  28. P

    Rubber Bands and Energy Dissipation

    Greetings all... When I pull a fairly good size/quality rubber band and then quickly hold it against my lips, I feel it to be quite hot. I assume that some of the energy used in stretching the rubber band is converted into heat by virtue of the properties of a "rubber band" My question is...
  29. W

    Elastic Properties of a rubber band

    Hi all. I have something of a problem in my understanding of a current lab experiment that I am doing in my second year. The experiment is set such that we explore the elastic properties of an elastic band through small and large deformations and measure the force that it exerts on the...
  30. A

    Thermondynamics: Ideal Rubber Band

    Set-up: Rubber band modeled as an Ideal chain (polymer) with Nr (links) monomers pointing right, and Nl monomers pointing left each of length l. Find expressions for the length of the band, its statistical weight (iI think that means the multiplicity?) and its entropy, in terms of Nr and Nl...
  31. J

    Project based on the theme rubber

    Hello, i'm currently doing a project based on the theme rubber, specifically the friction/texture of rubber. so I'm just wondering, what gives rubber the "rubbery" texture that it has (chemically, structurally, etc.)? any links to good sites would be helpful! thx, jen.:rolleyes:
  32. DaTario

    Waves in a pool of water having a rubber sheet ground

    Hi All Suppose we have a rectangular pool filled with water. But the concrete ground of this pool is substituted by a rubber sheet, resistent obviously to the weight of the water inside the pool. Now consider we produce a plane wave traveling along the greatest dimension of this rectangular...
  33. S

    Create a Rolling Device Powered by Rubber Bands - Help Josh!

    Well i have been assigned a project in my physics class that is totally clueless to me so i have come to all you smart peoples to help me with it because I am like totally clueless of what to do... I am to create a rolling device powered by (a) rubber band(s) (no engines, etc)...
  34. K

    Tennis Ball Vs Glass Ball Vs Rubber Ball

    HI guys. I am facing a problem that is quite interesting but quite complicated to explain. so would like to ask some help. the problem is talking about the boucebackability of three different balls. Tennis ball , glass ball and rubber ball. there is one little boy claims that the glass ball...
  35. P

    Variation of rubber with temperature

    My materials professor told me the restoring force of rubber increases with temperature because of entropy. At normal solid forms because the structure is energetically favorable. He says the unstreched state is entropically favorable. Is this reasonable? I plan to test it this weekend when...
  36. C

    Projectile motion via a spring (well, actually, rubber bands )

    Okay, here's the deal. 2nd day back at college and I pretty much have forgot most everything Physics related already :rolleyes: Had a very easy assignment today in one of my engineering classes to take two dowels and a bunch of rubber bands and build something that could launch/throw a...
  37. H

    Calculating Change in Length of Rubber Tube

    A 100 g ball is attached to a rubber tube and is spun around in a circle at a rate of one revolution every second. A force of 0.5 N is required to stretch the tube 1.0 cm. If the original length is L = 1.0 m, what will be the change in length of the rubber tube when the ball is revolving...
  38. EnumaElish

    Can spacetime as a rubber sheet be taken literally or merely as pedagogic?

    Can "spacetime as a rubber sheet" be taken literally or merely as pedagogic? Doesn't a literal interpretation imply that gravity is not a "force" in the usual sense, but merely a consequence of how the space is shaped? Unless the potential energy content of the rubber is counted, perhaps. (I...
  39. G

    Boost Your Physics Project with Rubber Band Testing Help!

    Hello everyone My phisicsproject for school is to test the strength in every rubber band in a bag with new fresh rubberbands. The problem is i can't really understand how I should do this test, and i hop you guys can help me out. //daniel :confused: <-- me right now :-p
  40. M

    Do Rubber Bands Truly Follow the Modified Hooke's Law Formula?

    I have found a website which claims that rubber bands obey a force law F=-kT(x-\frac{1}{x^2}) x=\frac{L}{L_0} While this is similar to Hooke's Law in the sense that it *almost* approaches it for large values of x, it is also quite different. Can anyone confirm or deny the formula's...
  41. U

    Designing a Force Scale Test w/ Rubber Bands

    Two physics students are having a debate about the best way to define a force scale using rubber bands. Each one is trying to convince you to do it their way. They have the following apparatus to use in tests: A bunch of identical small rubber bands 10N spring scale meter stick Joe...
  42. A

    Rubber Sheet, Heavy Sphere & Gravity: Explained

    I read recently about an analogy to how general relativity tries to picture gravity. Its the one about a rubber sheet and a heavy sphere placed on it deforming it to cause a depression.Another ball in the region will tend to move towards this depression .But doesn't this assume the existence of...
  43. A

    How Much Rubber Enters the Atmosphere from Tire Wear in the U.S. Annually?

    Okay, here is the question, I am a little clueless on where to start, on how I would go about solving this. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks The rubber worn from tires mostly enters the atmosphere as particulate pollution. Estimate how much rubber (in kg) is put into the air in the...
  44. Ivan Seeking

    Unlock the Potential of "Smart Skin" with Metal Rubber

    “Smart skin” http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/article/0,12543,676853,00.html
  45. Y

    Need help on rubber band and Hooke's Law

    This has caused me to be very confused because at one time i did an experiment, the rubber band followed Hooke's Law, but at another time, it does not. When I search the internet, some websites state that such experiments are only correctly done when the force is linear with the extension...
  46. ShawnD

    Bouncing a rubber ball with a hole in it

    As you all know, rubber balls (tennis balls) do not bounce good if there are holes in them. Why is that? I have 2 ideas as to what it is but I'm not sure which one. 1. The rubber cannot compress properly so the ability for the rubber to store elastic energy is gone. 2. The air inside of the...
  47. P

    Exploring the Science of Rubber Bands: The Force Behind Elasticity

    OK, maybe this is an odd question, but here goes: When I pull on a rubber band, is the force I "feel" the resistance to co-valent bond separation? Am I actually "feeling" electron forces?
  48. Z

    Rubber Band Powered Mass Transporter

    I need help. I need to design a device to transport a 1kg pass ten meters over a level surface using the energy stored in a #10 rubber band. I decided to use three wheels at the structure, and i created a car with a basswood top and the rubber band is wounded up at the rear axel to get power...
  49. A

    Constructing a Vehicle Powered by a Rubber Band:

    A Rubber Band?? OK...i need your help people... i have to construct a vehical that can transport a 1 Kg weight over 10 meters using any materials i please...here's the catch: Its only source of power can be a size-10 rubber band! It can have no other source of power and it cannot be launched...
  50. M

    What is the coefficient of static friction of rubber on wood?

    what is the coefficient of static friction of rubber on wood?
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