The Stiffness of Rubber
This teaching and learning package is based on a two experiments which demonstrate the behaviour of rubber under tension. The first displays the unusual behaviour of a rubber strip when heated under tension; the second considers the behaviour of a rubber membrane under tension. In both cases the behaviour is considered theoretically in terms of the molecular structure of rubber and the thermodynamic entropy changes involved.
![Photograph of contraction experiment](images/home.jpg)
Photograph of contraction experiment
First created: April 2004. Last updated: August 2006.