November 22, 2023
100+ Fun Rubber Facts
Rubber is a fascinating material that has been used for centuries in countless products and industries. From car tyres to elastic bands, rubber is an essential component in modern-day life. But did you know that rubber has a rich history and a variety of fun and interesting facts associated with it? In this article, we will explore over 100 fun rubber facts that you may not have known before. Get ready to expand your knowledge and appreciation for this versatile material!
Scroll through the 100+ facts in the gallery, or explore the table below. New facts added each month!
| No. | Fact |
|---|---|
| 001 | Although native to the Amazon rainforest, the rubber-producing tree hevea brasiliensis is most commonly grown in Southeast Asia. |
| 002 | Synthetic rubbers are chemically optimised to perform in the most demanding environments |
| 003 | The Kazakh dandelion and guayule are two of the most promising alternatives to natural rubber. |
| 004 | In the 1890s, the change from solid to pneumatic bicycle tyres led to the first rubber boom. |
| 005 | The distinctive crepe rubber sole is an iconic feature of Desert, or Chukka, Boots. The light-coloured rubber is made by rolling out coagulated latex into crinkled sheets. |
| 006 | Reclaimed rubber involves a devulcanisation process to revert cured rubber to its original form, from which it can be used again. |
| 007 | Recycled rubber is incorporated into road surfaces to increase flexibility and longevity |
| 008 | Elastomeric isolators can help shield buildings from seismic vibrations |
| 009 | It is estimated that up to 30% of microplastics in the ocean are from rubber sources |
| 010 | Rubber is used in more than 40,000 consumer products worldwide |
| 011 | Ultra-thin graphene layers can be sprayed onto rubber to enhance its physical properties |
| 012 | Space exploration could not occur without the refinement and development of specialist synthetic rubbers |
| 013 | Rubber can be engineered to withstand extreme temperature, pressure, vibrations, chemical contact and friction |
| 014 | Many acoustic applications take advantage of the acoustic impedance match between rubber and water |
| 015 | Submarines are coated in rubber "acoustic tiles" to amplify sonar echo via constructive interference |
| 016 | Sonar bow domes are the largest moulded rubber articles in the world, weighing over 8000kg |
| 017 | Buildings can be sprayed with elastomers to mitigate the damage caused by blasts and explosions |
| 018 | High temperatures during takeoff and landing make natural rubber the ideal material for aircraft tyres |
| 019 | Elastomer fabrics are used for hovercraft skirts that hang to guide the airflow downwards |
| 020 | The ability of elastomers to store energy makes them ideal materials for sealing purposes |
| 021 | Rubber can very effectively function as an energy storage device due to its ability to store and quickly return a large energy density |
| 022 | Inflated natural rubber discs can create enough acceleration to launch submarine torpedos |
| 023 | In 2020, the US Postal Service ordered more than 730 million rubber bands. |
| 024 | Rubber is naturally white, and is only made black by the addition of various chemicals, such as carbon black. |
| 025 | In 2019, China consumed more than 5.5 million tonnes of natural rubber. |
| 026 | Keds, the iconic rubber-soled canvas shoes, were created by the United States Rubber Company in 1910. |
| 027 | NASA's work in fuel-related cryogenics helped develop processes for recycling tyres into rubber crumb. |
| 028 | In Europe there are more than 6000 companies producing rubber goods. |
| 029 | 65% of produced rubber goods are destined for the automotive industry. |
| 030 | Household appliances, industrial applications and the energy/offshore industry account for 30% of the rubber goods market. |
| 031 | There is currently no universal substitute for natural rubber that could be used in all its applications. |
| 032 | More than 20% of natural rubber used in the EU is sourced from Africa. |
| 033 | Natural rubber is now recognised as a Critical Raw Material by the EU. |
| 034 | Developed by DuPont in the 1930s, Neoprene was one the first synthetic rubbers to hit the market. |
| 035 | Purity, inertness and biocompatibility are major considerations when choosing a rubber for medical applications. |
| 036 | Polymer adhesives are often stronger, more flexible and have greater impact resistance than other forms of adhesive. |
| 037 | Rubber seals destined for the oil and gas industry are designed to withstand the most extreme conditions |
| 038 | Polymers are often specified according to temperature, application, media, pressure, size and speed (TAMPSS). |
| 039 | Used by the indigenous population of South America, Caoutchouc is one of the original words for rubber. |
| 040 | Each year, recycling prevents more than 100 million tyres heading to landfill. |
| 041 | Ambient shredding and cryogenic processing are the two primary methods of rubber recycling. |
| 042 | Crumb rubber is the most common end product of the rubber recycling process. |
| 043 | Shock absorber cord, such as "bungee" cord, is made from natural rubber strands encased in a braided cover of woven cotton cords. |
| 044 | Silicone rubbers are a group of plastic rubber materials made from silicon, oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon. |
| 045 | Rubber seals are used to prevent the entrance of dirt, water, or air, and to prevent the loss of fluids, gases, or air. |
| 046 | Many elastomers can be made electrically conductive, for use in gaskets, touchpads and other electrical simulation devices. |
| 047 | Supply, weather, consumption, currency exchange, policy changes, crude oil prices and speculative forces all affect the price of natural rubber. |
| 048 | Rubber has a low modulus of elasticity and is capable of withstanding a deformation of up to 1000%. |
| 049 | The average annual yield for a latex rubber tree is 19 pounds (8.6 kg). |
| 050 | Christopher Columbus is credited with "discovering" natural rubber in 1493 while in Haiti. |
| 051 | Until the turn of the 20th century, the countries of the Amazon basin controlled 90% of the rubber export market. |
| 052 | Early ‘rubber technologists’ used rubber for shoe soles, coated fabrics and playballs well over 2,000 years ago. |
| 053 | The Aztec king, Montezuma, was given 16,000 rubber balls as tribute by the local lowland tribes. |
| 054 | Archaeologists have discovered rubber ball courts in Snake town, south-western USA, dating back to AD 600-900. |
| 055 | The English chemist, J.B. Priestly, is accredited with naming rubber after his observation that it ‘rubbed’ out pencil marks. |
| 056 | In the world of rubber, the words vulcanisation, cure and cross-linking are used synonymously. |
| 057 | Charles Goodyear was a 19th century pioneer who discovered that by combining sulphur and heat, natural rubber could be vulcanised. |
| 058 | The first commercially successful pneumatic tyre was developed by John Dunlop in England, 1889. |
| 059 | Since the early 20th century, carbon black has been added to natural rubber to significantly increase its mechanical properties. |
| 060 | Styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) took off as the primary alternative to natural rubber following the outbreak of the Second World War. |
| 061 | Polyisoprene, the synthetic analogue of natural rubber, was not successfully commercialised until the 1960s. |
| 062 | Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) behave like rubber at room temperature but soften like plastic when heated. |
| 063 | As a renewable resource, natural rubber has an environmental advantage over synthetic elastomers that are derived from petroleum oil-based materials. |
| 064 | The French word for rubber, ‘caoutchouc’, is derived from the South American Indian word meaning ‘weeping wood’. |
| 065 | To make a rubber product, the primary raw material, a polymer, is mixed with chemicals to form a rubber ‘compound’, which is subsequently vulcanised. |
| 066 | The nature of the raw gum elastomer is the main driving force behind the material properties of the final rubber compound. |
| 067 | Compared to the wealth of information available for metals, there is little mechanical engineering data for most rubber compounds. |
| 068 | In determining temperature limits for rubber compounds, it is necessary to describe whether the exposure is short-term or continuous. |
| 069 | The chemical resistance of rubber depends upon both the concentration and temperature of the chemical encountered. |
| 070 | For most elastomers, degradation speeds up with temperature. For example, ozone resistance will decrease as the temperature rises. |
| 071 | Rubber resilience is the ratio of energy input to energy output in a rapid, or instantaneous, full recovery of a deformed sample. |
| 072 | The addition of carbon black to natural rubber improves both UV and ozone resistance. |
| 073 | Chemicals, concentration, temperature, mechanical stress and strain, time duration and compound variables are often not independent and can interact. |
| 074 | With mixed economic and commercial success, Dandelion, poinsettia and the Mexican shrub Guayule are potential alternative sources of natural rubber. |
| 075 | Rubber tree latex is a blend of water, polyisoprene and small amounts of proteins and carbohydrates. |
| 076 | Coagulated with formic acid, the latex coagulum is squeezed between two rollers, dried and baled. |
| 077 | Natural rubber, polyisoprene, is graded in relation to its dirt content and method of production. |
| 078 | Storage hardening is a cross-linking phenomenon whereby the viscosity of an elastomer increases, or hardens, during storage. |
| 079 | High mechanical strength, excellent elasticity, good abrasion resistance, good dynamic mechanical properties and low relative cost make natural rubber an attractive choice. |
| 080 | UV light and ozone are the weather elements of most concern to rubber technologists. |
| 081 | Synthetic polyisoprene has more consistent curing rates and processing characteristics than natural polyisoprene. |
| 082 | As a raw gum elastomer, natural rubber has poor weather resistance. This can be significantly improved with the addition of carbon black. |
| 083 | The many subgroups of SBR are classified by the ratio of styrene to butadiene, and by the method of synthesis of the polymer. |
| 084 | Silicone rubbers are among the best elastomers for both high and low temperature resistance. |
| 085 | Radiation, zero atmosphere and below glass-transition temperatures are unique challenges that elastomers face in space-based applications. |
| 086 | The term phr (parts per hundred rubber) is defined as parts by weight of ingredient per 100 parts of raw gum elastomer. |
| 087 | Rubber compound formulation is often a compromise between properties, processing, requirements and cost. |
| 088 | The good dynamic mechanical properties of natural rubber make it a good choice for tyres, rubber springs and vibration mounts. |
| 089 | Used tyres can be ground into rubber crumb, which can be used as a compounding ingredient to expel air during the rubber moulding process. |
| 090 | Ozone attack is of most concern to applications where thin rubber products are subjected to regular stretching. |
| 091 | Raw elastomers are offered in various grades, most commonly according to the viscosity of the polymer. |
| 092 | To design a perfect compound, a rubber technologist must understand both the end application and the processing machinery. |
| 093 | Apart from natural rubber, most elastomers are derived from petroleum oil. |
| 094 | Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) accounts for over 50% of all synthetic rubber produced. |
| 095 | Cross-linking agents, accelerators, antioxidants, fillers and plasticisers are all added to raw gum elastomers in a typical compound formulation. |
| 096 | A cost-effective rubber has reasonable production costs without compromising any important mechanical or chemical properties. |
| 097 | The electrical resistance of natural rubber is very good although, like all elastomers, it is dependent on compounding. |
| 098 | Chemical resistance is classed as the exposure or damage from environmental factors like UV radiation, extreme temperatures and moisture. |
| 099 | The viscosity of unvulcanised rubber is measured on a Mooney Viscometer and expressed using its own empirical scale, Mooney Units (MU). |
| 100 | Rubber is a such a vital material for countless consumer and industrial applications that the EU consider it a critical raw material. |
| 101 | Elasticity describes how rubber stretches and deforms under stress, and then return to its original shape when the stress is removed. |
| 102 | SBR (Styrene Butadiene Rubber), which accounts for 50% of all synthetic rubber production, both complements and competes with natural rubber. |
| 103 | Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy uses the infrared absorption spectrum of a rubber sample to determine the base polymer. |
| 104 | CR, or chloroprene rubber, is more popularly known as Neoprene. |
| 105 | Ozone is a toxic gas that attacks any polymer with a double-chain structure, causing crack propagation that worsens over time. |
| 106 | Green strength describes the strength of rubber in its uncured state. |
| 107 | Vibration attenuation analysis is used to measure the effectiveness of rubber damping. |
| 108 | High durability means that a rubber compound can withstand wear and tear over a long period of time without losing its physical properties. |
| 109 | Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) is a combined analytical technique that is currently regarded as the ‘gold standard’ for substance identification. |
| 110 | For any compound formula, the raw gum elastomer always has 100 parts by weight. |
| 111 | High strength and good resilience make natural rubber a suitable choice for fine particle impact applications. |
| 112 | Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) remains a key issue in the use of recycled rubber. |
| 113 | The consistency of a rubber compound is dependent upon changes in the molecular architecture during and after curing |
| 114 | Over-mixing a raw gum elastomers can result in a lower uncured viscosity and lower cured modulus. |
| 115 | A Dispergrader is light reflecting microscope that is used to determine the dispersion of fillers within the rubber mix. |
| 116 | Waste rice husks are source of natural silica that can be used as an sustainable filler in a rubber compound |
| 117 | Good adhesion means that rubber bonds well with other materials when used in a composite structure. |
| 118 | The damping properties of rubber make it a good choice for sound insulation and vibration control. |
| 119 | A raw elastomer with high green strength, the measure of elongation in the uncured state, can aid mill-mixing processing. |
| 120 | The specific gravity, or specific density, of a rubber sample is the ratio of the material density to a reference density, most commonly water. |
| 121 | Rubber can be mixed on a two-roll mill, with each roll rotating at a different speed to induce a frictional shearing force at the nip. |
| 122 | Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) is a combined analytical technique that is currently regarded as the ‘gold standard’ for substance identification. |
| 123 | Organic waste materials, such as coffee grounds and walnut shells, are a sustainable choice of filler in rubber compounding |
| 124 | In a rubber, adequate hardness is the right balance of hardness and flexibility, depending on the application and its intended environment. |
| 125 | Aloe vera can act as sustainable alternative to formic acid in the coagulation of field latex |
| 126 | The area of material overflow around a rubber mould is called flash. |
| 127 | Toxic chemicals in rubber tyre dust can spread as far as 150m from the roadside |
| 128 | The Time-Temperature Superposition Principle (TTPS) uses the measured temperature-frequency effects of a viscoelastic material to construct a master curve. |
| 129 | The leeching of toxic chemicals and metals from ground tyre rubber is an ongoing public health concern |
| 130 | Metal oxides are mixed with rubber to provide radiation shiedling from ionising radition sources such as gamma and x-rays |
| 131 | In mixing, rubber must first be masticated to reduce the viscosity and achieve coherence. |
| 132 | The friction ratio is the difference in speed between each roll on a two roll-mill mixing setup. |
| 133 | The reversible covalent bonds in some polymers give rise to self-healing properties |
| 134 | Rubber mixing machines use both distributive and dispersive mixing techniques to break down and mix materials together. |
| 135 | The Banbury internal mixing machine was invented by the English scientist and engineer, Fernley Banbury, in 1916. |
| 136 | Antimicrobial rubbers contain active agents that prevent the growth of bacteria within a material |
| 137 | Preforms, billets or load weights are small, roughly-shaped pieces of uncured compound that are placed into a rubber mould. |
| 138 | Pre-mixed elastomers without vulcanisation agents are often called a first stage mix or masterbatch. |
| 139 | Bacteria and fungi, such as E.coli, can be used to degrade natural rubber. |
| 140 | Good abrasion resistance and low relative cost make natural rubber an attractive choice for slurry pump liners, impellers and tank linings. |
| 141 | Raw gum elastomers are often blended together to gain the right combination of specific material properties. |