Glue till you drop - Experiments on Historical Adhesives

Schälte M, Lück G. Kleben bis das Zeug hält – Experimente zu historischen Klebstoffen. CHEMKON. 2020.Adhesives have been used by mankind for several millennia. Initially used in the creation of tools and hunting weapons, they can nowadays be found in almost all branches of industry and everyday life. This article presents three experiments on some of the most ancient adhesives: birch pitch, resin adhesives, and animal glue. They can be conducted in chemistry and science classes of secondary and primary schools and especially in school science clubs or projects in order to discuss intermolecular interactions. In addition to the experiments, this article gives an illustration of the physicochemical and historical background of adhesives