Materials · 1839

Vulcanization

Sulfur and heat make rubber durable in heat and cold.

Charles Goodyear discovered vulcanization in 1839, and Thomas Hancock patented it in Britain in 1844. Stable rubber made tires, seals, belts and insulation possible.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 1

Mesoamerican rubber 1600 BCE

What it led to 2

Pneumatic tire 1888
Synthetic rubber 1909

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Private cars in the UK Latest: 22M cars (1998) Source: Our World in Data