# 32 Rubber and Charles Goodyear

Explorers found something strange in the New World. Indian children had balls that bounced. The explorers brought the material to England. Scientists worked with it. One gave it a name. He rubbed a piece of it over pencil marks. The marks rubbed off. He called the piece rubber. Rubber also kept out water. Scientists melted the raw rubber. They saw how to make raincoats. But there were drawbacks. The coats were sticky in hot weather. Cold made them stiff and brittle.

Could the problem be solved? Yes. Charles Goodyear solved it. He was a poor inventor. He worked in his wife's kitchen. She wanted him to find a paying job. But he kept on trying. One day he had an accident. He spilled a sulfur-rubber mixture on a hot stove. The sulfur smelled awful. His wife was angry. He was upset. Then he noticed something. The mixture baked like a pancake. He thought, "Why didn't it melt further?" He carefully lifted the pancake of rubber. It had changed. Now it was soft. It bent easily. He put it on ice. It did not stiffen. He held it over heat. It did not become sticky. The problem was solved. The rubber was "cured." It stayed tough and firm. Goodyear named the process after Vulcan. He was the Roman god of fire.

Goodyear licensed his process. But he was no businessman. He gained very little. Lawsuits ate up his money. Not much more is known. But there is a bright spot. Something must have worked. His second son graduated from Yale. He was a well-known historian. Another son also did well. He adapted the sewing machine. It now made shoes.

Yes, there was sulfur in the rubber. But there must have been brains in the genes.

# 32 橡膠與查爾斯·固特異

探險家在新世界發現了奇怪的東西。印第安兒童有會彈跳的球。探險家將這種材料帶到英國。科學家們對其進行研究。一個人給它起了名字。他用一塊這種材料摩擦鉛筆痕跡。痕跡被擦掉了。他稱那塊材料為橡膠。橡膠也能防水。科學家熔化生橡膠。他們看到了製作雨衣的方法。但也有缺點。這些外套在熱天會發黏。寒冷使它們變硬變脆。

這個問題能解決嗎？是的。查爾斯·固特異解決了它。他是一個貧窮的發明家。他在妻子的廚房裡工作。她希望他找一份有薪水的工作。但他繼續嘗試。一天，他發生了一個意外。他將硫磺-橡膠混合物灑在熱爐子上。硫磺聞起來很臭。他的妻子很生氣。他很沮喪。然後他注意到一些事情。混合物像煎餅一樣烤熟了。他想：「為什麼它沒有進一步熔化？」他小心地拿起那塊橡膠煎餅。它已經改變了。現在它變軟了。很容易彎曲。他把它放在冰上。它沒有變硬。他把它放在熱源上。它沒有變黏。問題解決了。橡膠被「硫化」了。它保持堅韌和牢固。固特異以伏爾甘命名這個過程。他是羅馬的火神。

固特異將他的製程授權出去。但他不是商人。他獲利甚微。訴訟耗光了他的錢。沒有更多為人所知的了。但有一個亮點。一定有某些東西是成功的。他的二兒子從耶魯大學畢業。他是一位著名的歷史學家。另一個兒子也做得很好。他改進了縫紉機。它現在能製作鞋子。

是的，橡膠中有硫磺。但基因中一定有頭腦。