What causes rubber bands to deteriorate?
I can tell the air has something to do with it, because the rubber bands
down in the container are good, but the ones on top break easily.
TIA
There are not as many people going to the rubber ball nowadays, so the
rubber bands are not getting the work and they get out of practice and thier
playing deteriorates.
Oxygen and UV light are the two big killers. Either one alone will turn
a nice springy rubber band into a pile of granulated rubber in an
amazingly short amount of time. Both together makes it happen even
faster.
And god forbid you try to keep rubber bands "alive" anywhere near either
chlorine or ozone...
Ozone is the biggest culprit. It's what causes sidewall cracking in
tires, too, even those that are stored in a "cool, dry place away from
sunlight."
> >
> >What causes rubber bands to deteriorate?
> >I can tell the air has something to do with it, because the rubber bands
> >down in the container are good, but the ones on top break easily. > >TIA
>
>
> I don't know but here is my solution:
>
>
that will destroy the society. It is Darwinian.
the bags of rubber bands that i had in the shed over the years probably
dried out.... the rubber oils in them must have dried out and they
became brittle.. broke easy, no more elasticity..........
imho, most "rubber" bands sold these days are some screwy formula that
ages rapidly when exposed to air. this is especially true with the
"cheap as dirt" multicolored multisized offerings.
maybe a better group for this, dunno what, sci.chemistry? i bet you
will have longer life from genuine rubber, and they cost very little
more, but are mostly the "orig" color. get made in USA stuff at an
office supply or in quantity at Sam's or Costco.
the difference will be remarkable, 1-2yrs vs 5-10yrs. just my ho.
--Loren
that will destroy the society. It is Darwinian.
Probably oxygen. New rubber is a favorite bitch of mine.
We get rubber bands around the newspapers and these
deteriorate quite quickly if just left lying around or much
more quickly if under tension. I have colored rubber bands
from the 40's and 50's that are still strong and don't
deteriorate under tension. The same goes for the rubber
erasers on the end of pencils. After a few months and
certainly after 2 years, the erasers on pencils are hard and
just make streaks when you try to use them. But, I have
pencils from the late 1940's, one of which has been in a
pencil holder on my desk for the past several years, and
they still erase like a fresh eraser. Obviously the
composition of the erasers is much different now than it was
a few decades back, and it isn't an improvement.
Pipper wrote: There are not as many people going to the rubber ball
nowadays, so the rubber bands are not getting the work and they get out of
practice and thier playing deteriorates.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Many of the musicians refuse to play that venue, because their checks
bounced. At least that is what I have heard, but that may be stretching the
truth.
Ive noticed the surgical rubber tubing in my wrist rocket sling shots
goes to hell rather quickly as well. Much shorter time now than
before..like 1 yr.
Gunner
"Gun Control, the theory that a 110lb grandmother should
fist fight a 250lb 19yr old criminal"
On Fri, 09 Jan 2004 22:57:43 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
vaguely proposed a theory
......and in reply I say!:
Its a very elastic term....
**************************************************** sorry
remove ns from my header address to reply via email
I was frightened by the idea of a conspiracy that was
causing it all.
But then I was terrified that maybe there was no plan,
really. Is this unpleasant mess all a mistake?
Or try rec.models.rc.air. Lots of trainers and smaller models use
rubber bands to secure the wing. Generally, we use No. 64 natural
rubber. They're still replaced regularly. If they go in flight, it's
not called a model. It's a powered lawn dart.
Pete Keillor
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