Ebonite

This article details a type of plastic, for the manufacturer of bowling balls, see Ebonite International

Ebonite is one of the earliest forms of plastic. A hard, rigid and shiny resin, it was intended as an artificial substitute for ebony wood. It is actually a very hard rubber first obtained by Charles Goodyear by vulcanizing rubber for prolonged periods. As a result, it is about 30% to 40% sulfur. It is often used in bowling balls, smoking pipe mouthpieces, fountain pen nib feeds, and high-quality saxophone and clarinet mouthpieces. It is also commonly used in physics classrooms to demonstrate static electricity.

Hard rubber ('Ebonite' is a brand name that's not universally used) was used in the cases of automobile batteries for years, thus establishing black as their traditional color even long after stronger modern plastics were substituted. It is used in hair combs made by Ace, which survive, essentially unchanged, from the days of the US Civil War.

If Ebonite is burned, it produces large amounts of smoke.

When Ebonite is rubbed with fur it produces a good electric charge.

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Last updated on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 09:50:35 PDT (GMT -0700)
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