At a time when almost everything in the world is full of colors and gives it vitality and life, we find that car tires and various types of vehicles have maintained their black color since they existed until today!
why are tires black?
Is it difficult to design vehicle wheels in colors other than black? To answer this question, we must first look at rubber itself, the material from which tires are made, among other things.
1- How do we get rubber from rubber trees?
Latex is sticky, milky, and white in nature. To remove latex from rubber trees, the harvester must make incisions in the bark. Once these incisions are made, the white fluid appears and begins to flow down the cuts. This white liquid is stored and then acid is added to make natural rubber.
Adequate conditions must be in place to ensure that the latex flows from the trees, the most important of which is the correct pitch, and only when it is very cold.
If the temperature is too hot, the latex turns solid and cannot flow down the tree. This is why combined harvesters work from 2-5 am when the temperature is cooler.
2- Why are tires black color?
After harvesting the attractive white latex, we now have to visit his tire manufacturing plant to find the answer to our main question in the article.
What we see first is a huge block of natural white rubber going into the machine. Then you will see the workers add some synthetic rubber, which is also not black in color.
So the question still remains! The next step in the process is where the color change occurs when workers add "carbon black".
Carbon black is just carbon in the form of small particles. It is a by-product of fossil fuels that undergo incomplete combustion.
Carbon black is one of the blackest materials in the world and is the component that gives our tires the black color.
Now, you may have a new question: What is the need for carbon black?
Carbon black is known for its ability to act as a reinforcing material. Carbon black increases the strength of the frame, as well as increases its durability. Carbon black also helps dissipate heat away from key parts of the tire, such as the tread and belt areas. When a tire runs on the road or on any surface, heat is generated due to friction. This heat can damage the tire and reduce its life.
3- Were the tires always black?
After knowing that carbon black is what gives car tires their blackness, let's go back to the 20th century, for example, in New York City.
Although there weren't very many cars during this period, the ones that did exist, along with other carriers that used rubber tyres, had white tires! So the tires weren't always black!
In the early days of rubber tires, they were actually made white, and then, to increase their strength, they were coated with soot that made them black. After years of research and production, the soot has been replaced by carbon black.