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 In 1830, Goodyear wanted to develop a rubber product that was useable by
the general public. To carry out his experiments, Goodyear bought a
truckload of raw rubber from a shoe factory and attempted to turn it
into a complete solid. His experiments were halted, when he was sent to
prison for not paying his debt from the rubber purchase. This set back
did not stop Goodyear. While in debtor’s prison, Goodyear continued his
experiments with the raw rubber and when he was released from jail, the
product he was making had the consistency of gum. This rubber material
was called natural or India rubber. Goodyear did not stop there with his
experiments. He discovered that he was able to harden the rubber by
mixing the rubber with sulfur and then treating it with an acid gas. The
rubber ball was tossed around and it accidentally landed on top of a hot
stove. To the surprise of Goodyear, the rubber began to change phase and
melt, instead of scorching. However, when Goodyear attempted to scrape
the rubber off the stove, he discovered it had hardened to the
consistency that he was trying to achieve . With the discovery of
vulcanization, and the beginning of the industrial revolution in both
Europe and North America, the tire evolved from a rubberized canvas
protecting a rubber tube to a complex fabric, steel and elastomeric
composition.
B. Biography of Charles Goodyear (1800-1860)
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Goodyear, then went on to develop a nitric acid treatment to eliminate
some of the rubber defects and in 1837, he negotiated a contract in
which he made mailbags for the U.S. Government. The rubber fabric for
the mailbags was not much more successful and proved unsuitable at
higher temperatures. Goodyear later became acquainted with Nathaniel
Hayward, who was a foreman at a company called the Eagle Company, where
he had used sulfur in solvents to permeate the rubber. The two men
worked together and made life preservers by the use of sulfurous acid
gas and the solarizing process which is the exposure of rubber sheeting
to sulfur dioxide and then to the sun’s rays. The next year, Goodyear
bought this patent from his partner .