Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, caucho, or caoutchouc, [1] as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene that are used as natural rubbers are classified as elastomers.
Rubber, elastic substance obtained from the exudations of certain tropical plants (natural rubber) or derived from petroleum and natural gas (synthetic rubber).
What is rubber? When people talk about "rubber", they don't usually specify what kind. There are many different kinds of rubber, but they all fall into two broad types: natural rubber (latex—grown from plants) and synthetic rubber (made artificially in a chemical plant or laboratory).
Rubber is an elastomer, a large molecule that can be stretched and returned to its original shape. Learn why rubber is so stretchy and how we make it.