AbstractsChemistry

A rubber may be defined as any substance possessing the property of elastic retraction after extension. The fact that a substance may be stretched is not in itself enough to classify it as a rubber; a rapid return to the original state upon release of stress is a far more characteristic phenomenon. Although recent investigations into the origin of elasticity have largely emphasized the physical properties, rather than the chemical composition, of long chain molecules, some insight into the common factors that contribute to elasticity can be gained from consideration of the chemical constitution of a few of the important rubbers.