Abstract
AN interesting account of the effect of low temperatures upon the properties of rubbers is given by M. L. Selker in an article entitled “Brittle Temperature of Rubber”(Bell Lab. Bee, 20, No. 7 ; March, 1942). When crude rubber is held at about 14° G. (- 10° C.) for some days, crystallization occurs and the rubber becomes stiff and opaque but remains elastic to some extent, permitting slight bending and stretching without breaking. Well-vulcanized rubber does not crystallize, but loses its ability to retract when stretched. Crude or elastic rubber, however, loses elasticity completely if cooled to 70-80° F. below zero. If bent suddenly at right angles a glass-like breakage occurs. This transition to brittleness occurs at a sharply defined temperature which differs for various natural and synthetic rubbers.
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PROPERTIES OF RUBBER AT LOW TEMPERATURES. Nature 149, 645 (1942). https://doi.org/10.1038/149645a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/149645a0