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latex

(Encyclopedia)latex, emulsion of a polymer (e.g., rubber) in water (see colloid). Natural latexes are produced by a number of plants, are usually white in color, and often contain, in addition to rubber, various gu...

elastomer

(Encyclopedia)elastomer ĭlăsˈtəmər [key], substance having to some extent the elastic properties of natural rubber. The term is sometimes used technically to distinguish synthetic rubbers and rubberlike plasti...

nitrile

(Encyclopedia)nitrile: see rubber.

neoprene

(Encyclopedia)neoprene: see rubber.

Goodyear, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Goodyear, Charles, 1800–1860, American inventor, b. New Haven, Conn., originator of vulcanized rubber. He failed in his earlier business ventures and was in jail for debt when he began his experimen...

caoutchouc

(Encyclopedia)caoutchouc kouˈcho͝ok [key], natural rubber obtained as a latex from various tropical plants, e.g., the Pará rubber tree. It is much more elastic than balata or gutta-percha. It is the most familia...

Rio Branco

(Encyclopedia)Rio Branco, city (1996 pop. 228,907), capital of Acre state, NW Brazil, on the Acre River. Rubber and Brazil nuts are its chief products; there is also some farming. Rio Branco has air connections wit...

Putumayo

(Encyclopedia)Putumayo ēsäˈ [key], river, c.1,000 mi (1,600 km) long, rising in the Andes, S Colombia, and flowing SE to the Amazon in NW Brazil. Mostly navigable, it marks part of Colombia's boundary with Ecuad...

Calabar

(Encyclopedia)Calabar kăləbärˈ, kălˈəbär [key], city (1991 est. pop. 154,000), SE Nigeria, a port on an estuary of the Gulf of Guinea. Rubber is processed, and palm oil, cacao, rubber, and timber are export...

tire

(Encyclopedia)tire, device made of rubber and fabric and attached to the outer rim of a vehicle wheel. Solid rubber tires were in limited use before 1850; they are still used in some special applications, e.g., for...