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by Spixxy on July 13th, 2005

Spixxy

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How do erasers work?

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  • by Answer Guy on July 15th, 2005

    Answer Guy

    I assume you're asking about pencil erasers, right? A pencil leaves a trail of microscopic graphite "flakes" on the paper, visible as black or grey lines to the human eye. An eraser is a soft rubber abrasive, which gently scrubs the top layer of paper, removing a little of paper together with graphite particles. Clumps of used rubber, mixed with paper and graphite are produced as the stuff you brush or blow off the paper when you're done erasing. It's mostly the rubber with the graphite mushed into it. There's a little bit of the top layer of paper mixed in as well - which is why you can't erase the same spot too much or you wear a hole in the paper.

    Comments

    • Simple, correct and non-tecnical. Good for you Answer Guy.

      vernillat

      by vernillat on July 19th, 2005

    • Thanks! This answer was satisfactory to my first grader...

      MsAngelBrown

      by MsAngelBrown on June 18th, 2011

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