05. Rubber

Today, we will look at rubber(ゴム)!

 

Until now, the parentheses were only written in English, but why Japanese?

You may think that. Because rubber is originally a word from Japanese'ゴム'.

It is also read as'rubber' in Japanese.

By the way, this ゴム actually originated in medieval and ancient European languages.

For example,'gom' in the Netherlands,'gum' in English, and'gomme' in French.

 

 

First of all, shall we look at the definition of rubber?

 

Rubber is elastic and is a hydrocarbon polymer.

Hydrocarbons here refer to organic compounds consisting of only carbon (C) and hydrogen (H).

In addition, a polymer is a type of polymer made by repeating units.

There are a lot of difficult words...

Well, to explain it easily, hydrocarbons are a substance made by attaching atoms of carbon

and hydrogen, and polymers can be said to be one of the molecules

in which the units made like this are repeatedly connected!

 

And it is said that rubber is naturally made from some tree sap, as shown in the picture above.

Isn't it so amazing? Nature seems so mysterious!

I think trees are precious beings that give only things that are good for humans :)

Because they allow you to meet good air, good materials, and good pictures.

 

 

 

Next, let's look at the history of rubber.

 

Rubber has been discovered relatively recently.

It is said that when Columbus first discovered America

and left for the second expedition, it landed on Haiti.

At that time, the local residents extracted some sap and made a big ball with elasticity,

and it is said that the history of rubber began when they saw it being used in games.

However, up to this time, the Europeans, whose civilization had developed greatly,

did not know about rubber, but the natives of Central

and South America knew about the rubber tree, where white liquid flows from the tree.

 

And it is called coa ochu and it is said to be a tree that makes tears!

They said that the sap collected from the rubber tree was coagulated or dried to make a resilient material, and it was used for waterproofing by applying it to the balls, jars, shoes, and clothes mentioned earlier.

 

Getting in latex from a rubber tree

Lastly, I will briefly explain the raw rubber extraction and subsequent process.

 

When the rubber tree reaches 5 years, the sap (latex) containing rubber components is secreted from the milk tube, also known as the milk tube.

To collect sap (latex), you must first cut a rubber tree and collect sap (latex) that comes out of the wound. The sap (latex) collected in this way is emulsified into small particles like milk.

 

Now, industrially, ammonia is mixed with the sap (latex) and exported to the factory as it is,

or a coagulant is added to the latex to harden the rubber component to some extent,

and then flatten it to a certain thickness and dry it for export.

 

Rubber (raw rubber) obtained from sap (latex) does not have strong elasticity.

Therefore, once it is stretched for a long time, it is difficult to return to its original state and it will age. That is why it is used by vulcanizing raw rubber.

 

 

Shall we learn about the process of vulcanizing raw rubber?

First of all, vulcanization refers to the formation of crosslinks by adding additives to rubber or polymers. Also, cross-linking is also called bridging, which means that a complete chemical bond is formed.

It is okay to use raw rubber as it is, but when vulcanized, it can be made into a very elastic rubber.

At the factory, the raw rubber is uniformly and properly kneaded by adding sulfur, vulcanization accelerator, stabilizer, and carbon black. After that, put the raw rubber mixed in this way into a mold and heat it to ±150 degrees to create a highly elastic rubber.

 

 

 

 

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Rubber is attractive on its own, but it seems more attractive when mixed with other additives.

This is because the elastic rubber surprises me because it is so tougher than I thought in everyday life :) But the most attractive thing seems to be when you are in a tree!

Unlike humans, it's a mystical mass that no one knows how it will be reborn :)

 

Nice work today!