Why erasers erase

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Tags: See All Tags carbon , eraser , friction , graphite , lead , paper , pencil. Not quite… now where did I put that eraser? Wonder What's Next? Try It Out Erasers help us correct our mistakes, but did you realize they can also be used to make all sorts of interesting crafts? Take a look at the following art projects, and choose one or more to try: When you're finished, email or send us a letter with a picture of your eraser art project!

Did you get it? Test your knowledge. Wonder Words graphite logical scientific lead mineral carbon softener abrasive Take the Wonder Word Challenge. Join the Discussion. Calvin Nov 14, Nov 15, Thanks so much! We'll get that corrected. I didn't think that an eraser had that much to it. Mar 5, Sep 10, This is so unbelievably cool! I can't believe that the graphite sticks to fiber in the paper and the ingredients in the eraser loosen the graphite to the point where it's able to grab hold of the graphite and keep it their.

Nov 4, Tung tung May 28, This is the most amazing and special piece of information about eraser I've ever seen. Thanks for the help! Good info for my home work. May 31, Koenig Dec 4, This is a great little article. I'd love to see an electron microscope series of an eraser "picking up" graphite particles. Wonderopolis Dec 4, Aparajita Guha Jun 30, I wish there was one eraser which would erase our parents' mind so that they won't remember our mischievous deeds.

Wonderopolis Jun 30, Troy Oct 16, I think it is really weird that people used to erase with white bread instead of rubber. Don't you think that is weird? Wonderopolis Oct 17, Elango Sep 29, I started reading the wonderopolis recently and it amazes me everyday: Now i am started looking at the past ones which i missed out. Thanks for sharing the wonderful information daily. Wonderopolis Sep 30, Wonderopolis Sep 12, But despite our devotion to our devices, Americans still use more than 2 billion pencils every year [source: Lunsford].

Contrary to popular belief, pencils aren't really made with lead, and haven't been since Roman scribes wrote on papyrus -- that's a common pencil myth. So if you chew on your pencils, rest assured you won't become ill from lead poisoning although that's not a free pass to snack on a No. They weren't topped with an eraser tip, though, until about a century later. And it's this companion to the pencil, the eraser, that we're interested in here. Erasers eradicate pencil markings by lifting graphite from the paper you've written on.

As you write, particles of graphite from your pencil mingle with and cling to particles in the fiber of the paper. Here's the science: Modern erasers are almost always made from petroleum-based synthetic rubber compounds, typically polyvinyl chloride they're no longer made from natural latex rubber, which is an allergen for some people.

Because the particles in the polymer that make up an eraser are stickier than paper, those graphite particles get stuck to the eraser instead. Some erasers are stickier than others and absorb graphite particles more easily, giving you a cleaner, less-abrasive result. Believe it or not, one of the very first erasers used was moist bread. Let's talk about how far erasers have come since the days of day-old bread, next.

You can expect to write about 45, words with a single pencil, and along the way there are sure to be a few mistakes. And with mistakes come erasers -- and some erase better than others.

Pencil erasers also called plug erasers , for example, and those standard-issue pink school erasers are basically the same type of eraser -- while they get the job done, they're considered some of the worst offenders when it comes to smudging, leaving behind eraser debris, and tearing or wearing a hole in the paper.

As you rub the eraser against the paper, the eraser begins to disintegrate -- some of this will help remove the graphite and some you'll need to brush or blow away, but this hard rubber may require you to rub vigorously to get your desired result. The only problem is as with old erasers that they crumble why doing so and their residue has to be removed. This is often done with a broad brush. It does not leave behind eraser residue like art gum eraser, and because of the lasts longer, but it loses its efficacy and resilience because particles that it erases stay inside it.

Kneaded eraser can be shaped into a fine point to erase small details; it can be shaped into a larger surface and work as a stamp, and it can work as a blotter to lighten a darker area covered with graphite. They cannot erase larger areas because they deform while rubbing.

Because of the way it works it does not smudge or damage work in progress. In other regards, it works very similarly to kneaded eraser. Electric eraser is basically an eraser fastened to a rotor of a small electric motor. The motor rotates the eraser at a uniform speed which erases the surface with much less damage than with hand.