A Rubber

Natural rubber, also called India Rubber or caoutchouc, is a thicksotropic visco-elastic Non-Newtonian material. It's a mixture of organic compound polyisoprene and small amounts of other organic compounds as well as water. This polymer is the main component. This material is classified as an elastomer (an elastic polymer). It is derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants are ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined into a usable rubber. Polyisoprene can also be produced synthetically. Natural rubber is used extensively in many applications and products, as is synthetic rubber. It is normally very stretchy and flexible and extremely waterproof.[1]
Contents   [hide]
1 Varieties
2 Discovery of commercial potential
3 Properties
4 Chemical makeup
4.1 Elasticity
5 Current sources
5.1 Cultivation
5.2 Collection
5.3 Transportation
5.3.1 Steel drums
5.3.2 ISO tanks
5.3.3 Flexitank or Flexibag inside 20 foot container
5.3.4 Other methods
6 Uses
6.1 Prehistoric uses
6.2 Manufacturing
6.3 Textile applications
7 Vulcanization
8 Allergic reactions
9 See also
10 References
10.1 Notes
10.2 Sources
10.3 Additional resources
11 Bibliography
12 External links
[edit]Varieties

The commercial source of natural rubber latex is the Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), a member of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. This species is widely used because it responds to wounding by producing more latex.
Other plants containing latex include gutta-percha (Palaquium gutta),[2] rubber fig (Ficus elastica), Panama rubber tree (Castilla elastica), spurges (Euphorbia spp.), lettuce, common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), Russian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz), Scorzonera (tau-saghyz), and guayule (Parthenium argentatum). Although these have not been major sources of rubber, Germany attempted to use some of these during World War II when it was cut off...