Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: neilep on 12/02/2008 20:39:19
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Dear Rubberologists,
This is a Vulcan:
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Say Hi To Sarek !
and this is some Rubber:
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Say Hi to Rubber !
What has Sarek (the Vulcan) gorn and done to the rubber to Vulcanize it ?..did he mind-meld with it ?
I have sent as many as one whole email to Leonard Nimoy and there has been no response yet !
Can YOU tell me what Vulcanized rubber is ?...and what it's used for ?
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Does Sarek smoke sulphur?
Vulcanisation of rubber is using sulphur to cross-link (like the railway the Government keep promising us, but never deliver) the chains within the rubber to harden it.
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Does Sarek smoke sulphur?
Vulcanisation of rubber is using sulphur to cross-link (like the railway the Government keep promising us, but never deliver) the chains within the rubber to harden it.
Does Sarek smoke sulphur?
Vulcanisation of rubber is using sulphur to cross-link (like the railway the Government keep promising us, but never deliver) the chains within the rubber to harden it.
Hi George !!
Sarek might Smoke Sulphur !!....I'll email him also !!
THANK YOU for your answer..............so.....why suplhur ?....why not some plastic stuff ?............does this mean my hot water bottle is Vulcanized ?
Perhaps I should min-meld with my hot water bottle ...LOL !!!*silly mood mode ...sorry*
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Sulphur, like oxygen, can easily form two bonds, so can form a bridge between the carbon chains that form the backbone of the rubber polymer.
Why sulphur, rather than oxygen or selenium (the same group of chemicals, oxygen lighter and selenium heavier than sulphur) - I would guess it is the energy associated with the bonds (oxygen can be too aggressive, and so would break the carbon-carbon bonds, so simply burning up the whole rubber chain rather than simply forming a cross link).
Again, someone else I am sure will give a far more precise explanation.
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Vulcanization requires a lot of heat, high heat, to make the covalent bonds necessary to keep rubber from melting in the heat and getting hard in the cold. It essentially makes it elastic enough to use.