The history behind your eraser...
An eraser is an instrument of stationery used to remove pencil
and sometimes pen marks. It is rather interesting to know that before the
invention of erasers slabs of wax and breadcrumbs were used to 'wipe out'
charcoal or lead marks from paper. Can you imagine doing that in the classroom?
The first pencils were discovered around 1560's but people did not have anything
that could rub out the marks with.
The history of the first erasers dates back all the way back to 1770 when Joseph Priestley discovered a vegetable gum that possessed the ability to 'rub out' pencil marks. Quite similarly, in the same year, Edward Nairne, an English engineer discovered rubber's erasing properties. This was the first practical use of the substance in the whole of Europe.
It was noticed that while the rubber softened in warm weather, it became hard in cold conditions. What 's more, the first rubbers had an unpleasant smell if you kept using it. A scientist named Charles Goodyear invented the process of 'vulcanization' in 1839. This innovative process enabled rubber to become more long lasting, elastic and more durable in nature.
Different types of erasers are made up of various raw materials, each with similar properties and a suited application. Erasers are examples of polymers and possess certain elasticity, a suitable property for ''rubbing' or 'erasing'. Erasers can be made up of myriad materials such as vinyl, gum, and rubber, plastic, and synthetic rubber.
Ever wondered how all these materials erase graphite, charcoal and lead marks on paper? The logic behind it is quite simple. The molecules in erasers are relatively stickier than those constituting paper. Therefore, when an eraser is rubbed onto a pencil mark, the graphite sticks to the eraser's surface instead of the paper's surface. While it does this, the eraser can damage the top layer of the paper itself if used too roughly. It leaves some residue on the paper, which then needs to be removed. Erasers are primarily adsorbents.
Modern erasers can be made into various shapes sizes and colors. Some of the types of erasers used today are the plug erasers, the kneaded erasers, the art gum erasers and the white vinyl erasers. Plug erasers are those found at the back of a pencil on the opposite side of the graphite tip, whereas kneaded erasers function by absorbing or picking graphite particles and are sticky in nature like chewing-gum. These erasers do not disintegrate nor do they leave behind any eraser residue and hence last much longer.
Kneaded erasers can be moulded into any shape and employed for precision erasing. Vinyl erasers are the white ones that are most commonly used and are soft in nature. These erasers are plastic like in texture and erase more cleanly as compared to the normal pink eraser.
The first erasers
The history of the first erasers dates back all the way back to 1770 when Joseph Priestley discovered a vegetable gum that possessed the ability to 'rub out' pencil marks. Quite similarly, in the same year, Edward Nairne, an English engineer discovered rubber's erasing properties. This was the first practical use of the substance in the whole of Europe.
When the facts don't stretch
It was noticed that while the rubber softened in warm weather, it became hard in cold conditions. What 's more, the first rubbers had an unpleasant smell if you kept using it. A scientist named Charles Goodyear invented the process of 'vulcanization' in 1839. This innovative process enabled rubber to become more long lasting, elastic and more durable in nature.
Charles Goodyear invented the process of 'vulcanization' in 1839.
Different types of erasers are made up of various raw materials, each with similar properties and a suited application. Erasers are examples of polymers and possess certain elasticity, a suitable property for ''rubbing' or 'erasing'. Erasers can be made up of myriad materials such as vinyl, gum, and rubber, plastic, and synthetic rubber.
How an eraser makes everything disappear
Ever wondered how all these materials erase graphite, charcoal and lead marks on paper? The logic behind it is quite simple. The molecules in erasers are relatively stickier than those constituting paper. Therefore, when an eraser is rubbed onto a pencil mark, the graphite sticks to the eraser's surface instead of the paper's surface. While it does this, the eraser can damage the top layer of the paper itself if used too roughly. It leaves some residue on the paper, which then needs to be removed. Erasers are primarily adsorbents.
The different types of erasers
Modern erasers can be made into various shapes sizes and colors. Some of the types of erasers used today are the plug erasers, the kneaded erasers, the art gum erasers and the white vinyl erasers. Plug erasers are those found at the back of a pencil on the opposite side of the graphite tip, whereas kneaded erasers function by absorbing or picking graphite particles and are sticky in nature like chewing-gum. These erasers do not disintegrate nor do they leave behind any eraser residue and hence last much longer.
Kneaded erasers can be moulded into any shape and employed for precision erasing. Vinyl erasers are the white ones that are most commonly used and are soft in nature. These erasers are plastic like in texture and erase more cleanly as compared to the normal pink eraser.
Comments
Post a Comment