Elastomer & Elasticity

While studying the Elasticity chapter in Physics, you might have come across the term Elastomer. In this post, we will briefly discuss it.

Any rubbery material composed of long chainlike molecules, or polymers, that are capable of recovering their original shape after being stretched to great extents is named Elastomer, and this naming is done from the term “elastic polymer.”

Elastomer is a substance that can be stretched to cause large strains.

Under normal conditions, the long molecules making up an elastomeric material are irregularly coiled.

With the application of force, however, the molecules straighten out in the direction in which they are being pulled. When released the molecules spontaneously return to their normal compact, random arrangement.

The elastomer with the longest history of use is polyisoprene. Polyisoprene is the polymer constituent of natural rubber, which is made from the milky latex of various trees, most usually the Hevea rubber tree.