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The Collaborative International Dictionary
natural rubber

Rubber \Rub"ber\, n.

  1. One who, or that which, rubs. Specifically:

    1. An instrument or thing used in rubbing, polishing, or cleaning.

    2. A coarse file, or the rough part of a file.

    3. A whetstone; a rubstone.

    4. An eraser, usually made of caoutchouc or a synthetic rubber[4].

    5. The cushion of an electrical machine.

    6. One who performs massage, especially in a Turkish bath.

    7. Something that chafes or annoys; hence, something that grates on the feelings; a sarcasm; a rub.
      --Thackeray.

  2. In some games, as bridge or whist, the odd game, as the third or the fifth, which decides the winner when there is a tie between the players; as, to play the rubber; also, a contest determined by the winning of two out of three games; as, to play a rubber of whist.
    --Beaconsfield. ``A rubber of cribbage.''
    --Dickens.

  3. India rubber; caoutchouc; gum elastic; -- also called natural rubber.

  4. Any substance, whether natural or synthetic, resembling India rubber with respect to its elasticity[1].

  5. A low-cut overshoe made of natural or synthetic rubber[4], serving to keep the feet and shoes dry when walking in the rain or on a wet surface; -- usually used in the plural.

  6. A condom. [Slang]

    Antimony rubber, an elastic durable variety of vulcanized caoutchouc of a red color. It contains antimony sulphide as an important constituent.

    Hard rubber, a kind of vulcanized caoutchouc which nearly resembles horn in texture, rigidity, etc.

    India rubber, caoutchouc. See Caoutchouc.

    Rubber cloth, cloth covered with caoutchouc for excluding water or moisture.

    Rubber dam (Dentistry), a shield of thin sheet rubber clasped around a tooth to exclude saliva from the tooth.

Wikipedia
Natural rubber

Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds plus water. Malaysia is one of the leading producers of rubber. Forms of polyisoprene that are used as natural rubbers are classified as elastomers. Natural rubber is used by many manufacturing companies for the production of rubber products. Currently, rubber is harvested mainly in the form of the latex from the para rubber tree or others. The latex is a sticky, milky colloid drawn off by making incisions into the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process called "tapping". The latex then is refined into rubber ready for commercial processing. Natural rubber is used extensively in many applications and products, either alone or in combination with other materials. In major areas latex is allowed to coagulate in the collection cup. The coagulated lumps are collected and processed into dry forms for marketing. In most of its useful forms, it has a large stretch ratio and high resilience, and is extremely waterproof.

Usage examples of "natural rubber".

Any down-time government which is astute enough to realize that natural rubber is desirable is also going to realize that at some point Grantville will be producing synthetic rubber.

He was not the inventor of synthetic rubber about which you hear nowadays, but he had improved the process so much that there is no doubt that synthetic rubber would soon have been on the market cheaper and better than the best natural rubber from Para.

The Land had all the natural rubber on Visager-(he only places that could grow it were tile Land itself and-the northernmost peninsula of what had once been the Empire.

The tread compounds were composed of both synthetic and natural rubber, carbon black, oils and resins.

The sap of the chicle tree was gathered and boiled down much like natural rubber (or for that matter, maple syrup).

In the Primitive era natural petroleum fractions were the source of power and natural rubber cushioned the wheels.