Vulcanise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To chemically modify rubber using sulfur and heat, enhancing its resilience and durability in various applications
2. To improve the properties of rubber by subjecting it to heat and sulfur, resulting in increased tensile strength and flexibility
3. To transform rubber into a more durable material through a process involving sulfur and heat, enhancing its mechanical properties and resistance to wear

Etymology: Charles Goodyear discovered the process behind this word by accident in 1839, when he dropped a mixture of raw rubber and sulfur onto a hot stove. Rubber had been a curiosity for decades: it softened in summer heat, turned brittle in winter cold, and went sticky in between. The charred, springy lump that resulted showed that heating rubber with sulfur fixed its behaviour, and Goodyear patented the method in 1844. The name, however, came from elsewhere. Vulcan was the Roman god of fire and metalworking, and in the 1850s the English inventor Thomas Hancock, who was working on the same problem, coined "vulcanization" to honour that link between heat and transformation. The verb "vulcanise" followed in British English, with the spelling "vulcanize" standard in American usage.

Synonyms: forge, harden