Which adhesive is stronger : Glue or Tape

Which adhesive is stronger: Glue or tape

In this post, you will learn:-

• A short history of glue and tape.
• What gives glues and tapes their stickiness?
• Reason for the strong smell of glues or why don't the glue stick in the bottle?.
• Comparison between glue and tape.
• Which adhesive is stronger: glue or tape.

The oldest glue in the world is over 8,000 years old and it comes from a cave near the Dead Sea. Ancient people used this glue, which was made by a mixture of plant material and animal bones, to make waterproof baskets and construct utensils. Today, we have enough types of tape and glue to build and repair almost everything. But, there are a few questions in my head and I am sure that these questions must be in your mind even:

1, What gives glue and tape their stickiness?

2. And which one is stronger?

To answer these questions first we will have to know about the history of glues and tapes, or if you just want to know the answer and you are not curious enough to know about some cool facts about them, then jump to the last paragraph.

History of Glue & Tape:

The glue came into existence around 8,000 years ago. It was made with a mixture of animal bone and plant material. The ancient people used this glue to make waterproof baskets and construct utensils. One of the major use of such glues were to make bows. As a bow bends the inner surface of the bow is under compression whereas, the outer surface is stretched and it is under tension. So, the ancient people used to make a bow with two different kinds of wood, one for the inner surface which had more compressibility, and the other for the outer surface which had more elasticity. This technique helped people to make stronger bows. But, these glues were made up of animal bones and plant materials so, their bonds can be easily broken by moisture. Then in 1942 superglue or synthetic glue was invented. 

The tape was actually invented for military use. It was invented by Jhonson & Johnson's Permacel Divison during WWII for the military. 

What gives glue and tape their stickiness?

Adhesives can be made from synthetic molecules or natural proteins and carbohydrates, like the vegetable starch dextrin, the milk protein casein, and the terpenes in tree resin. In order to get their stickiness glue and tape need two types of bonds adhesive bonds and cohesive bonds. Adhesive bonds occur between an adhesive's molecules and the molecules of whatever it's sticking to. Cohesive bonds happen between a glue or tape's own molecules, holding it together.

So, we got the answer to our first question, Now, let me tell you some important points about glue and tapes which will help us to answer our second question.  Most glues consist of adhesive polymers (stickiness provider)} dissolved in a solvent that prevents them from sticking to the inside of the bottle. The strong smell of many glues comes from the solvent, which evaporates when exposed to air. Some glues use water as a solvent but, others use chemicals that can be harmful to inhale. Glues with two or more components that chemically react instead of just drying, can create stronger bonds. The nature of the material and the quality of adhesive used in tapes define their durability and strength. The most popular type of tape is duct tape. So, in a nutshell, we can say that there are different types of glues and tapes. 

Comparison between glues and tapes:-

Both the adhesive and cohesive bonds of glue are strong, but the drying process makes them irreversible. This is why, if a glued surface is broken after it dries, it can't be reattached without new glue. By contrast, when a tape is applied to a surface, it forms weaker bonds, reversible bonds. So, you can peel a piece of tape off a surface and use it again. These weak bonds created by tapes are called Van der Waals forces, and this can occur between any two materials but, only if they are extremely close together, closer than the naked eye can see. Tape usually consist of backing coated with a combination of a rubber or a rubber-like stretchy component, and a compound called Tackifier, that's the sticky component. Unlike glue, no chemical reaction occurs when a tape is pressed into a surface. Instead, the soft adhesives flow into the cracks and grooves of the surface. Once the soft adhesives fill these microscopic irregularities, it is close enough to form Van der Waals forces. 

The Final Decision:-

So, whar's the world's strongest adhesives? Well, there is no one answer. In terms of absolute strength of the adhesive bond, glue is stronger than tape, but no single adhesive works well in all circumstances. We all know that glues need enough real estate where surfaces touch, whereas tapes do not. For example, if we want to create a chain of heavy bowling balls then, in this case, the strong bonds of glues won't work instead it is more advisable to use tapes in this condition. And this example proves that tapes cannot compete with the strong adhesive bonds of glues but, tape does have the advantage of instant stickiness in an emergency. Glue may be necessary to get a rocket to space, but when it comes to extraterrestrial repairs, stick to duct tape: liquid glues don't work in zero gravity.     

I hope you must have learned something from this post. And if you learned then, please share this and leave a lovely comment below.