Nowadays we have two types of rubber. Natural rubber, from the rubber tree, and the so called synthetic rubber. Natural rubber is extracted from a tree.
The bark is sliced to extract a white viscous liquid called latex, that’s used to make natural rubber. Synthetic rubber appears after World War II, because there was a huge demand for products that needed the qualities of rubber.
Rubber is a malleable material and scientists were trying to find a synthetic petroleum-based alternative to natural rubber.
