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{{shortShort description|TreesPalaquium of the genus Palaquiumtrees, and the latex made from their sap}}
{{More citations needed |date=November 2016}}
[[File:Palaquium gutta - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-099.jpg|thumb|right|''Palaquium gutta'']]
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'''Gutta-percha''' is a tree of the genus ''[[Palaquium]]'' in the family [[Sapotaceae]]. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically [[Chemically inert|inert]], resilient, electrically [[nonconductor|nonconductive]], [[thermoplastic]] [[latex]] derived from the tree, particularly from ''[[Palaquium gutta]]''; it is a polymer of [[isoprene]] which forms a rubber-like [[elastomer]].
 
The word ''"gutta-percha''" comes from the plant's name in [[Malay language|Malay]]: ''getah'' translates as '"[[latex]]'." and ''Perchapercha'' or (''perca'') ismeans an"scrap" olderor name for [[Sumatra]]"rag".
 
==Description==
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Guttapercha-boom TMnr 60016733.jpg|thumb|Gutta-percha tree]]
 
''PalaquiumP. gutta'' trees are {{convert|5|–|30|m|-1}} tall and up to {{convert|1|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in trunk diameter. The leaves are [[evergreen]], alternate or spirally arranged, simple, entire, {{convert|8|–|25|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long, glossy green above, and often yellow or [[glaucous]] below. The flowers are produced in small clusters along the stems, each flower with a white [[corolla (flower)|corolla]] with four to seven (mostly six) acute lobes. The fruit is an ovoid {{convert|3|–|7|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} berry, containing one to four seeds; in many species, the fruit is edible.
 
In Australia, gutta-percha is a common name specifically used for the [[euphorbiaceae|euphorbiaceous]] tree ''[[Excoecaria]] parvifolia'', which yields an aromatic, heavy, dark-brown timber.
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[[File:Guttapercha.svg|thumb|Chemical structure of gutta-percha<ref>B.K. Sharma, ''Industrial Chemistry'', p. 1117, Krishna Prakashan Media, 1991 {{ISBN|8187224991}}</ref>]]
 
Chemically, gutta-percha is a [[terpene|polyterpene]], a [[polymer]] of [[isoprene]], or [[polyisoprene]], specifically ([[cis-trans isomerism|trans]]-1,4-polyisoprene).<ref name="one">{{cite book |last1=Alamgir |first1=A. N. M. |title=Therapeutic Use of Medicinal Plants and their Extracts: Volume 2: Phytochemistry and Bioactive Compounds |date=23 June 2018 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-92387-1 |page=183 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2LZhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA183 |language=en}}</ref> The [[Cis-trans isomerism|cis]] structure of polyisoprene is the common [[latex]] [[elastomer]].<ref name="one"/> While latex rubbers are [[amorphous]] in molecular structure, gutta-percha (the trans structure) [[crystal]]lizes, leading to a more rigid material. It exists in alpha and beta forms, with the alpha form being brittle at room temperature.<ref>{{cite book |title=Text Book of Endodontics |date=2009 |publisher=Elsevier India |isbn=978-81-312-2181-5 |page=186 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zwdyRs9HYpgC&pg=PA186 |language=en}}</ref>
 
==Uses==
===Historic===
[[File:The Reels of Gutta-percha Covered Conducting Wire Conveyed into Tanks at the Works of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, at Greenwich MET DP801249.jpg|thumb|Cable manufacturing with gutta-percha at the [[Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company]] in [[Greenwich]], London, c.''circa'' 1865]]
[[File:The pagan tribes of Borneo; a description of their physical, moral and intellectual condition, with some discussion of their ethnic relations (1912) (14598075089).jpg|thumb|right|Members of a [[Kayan people (Borneo)|Kayan]] tribe in [[Borneo]] harvesting the sap of a gutta-percha tree {{circa}} 1910<!-- Published in 1912 -->]]
Scientifically classified in 1843, it was found to be a useful natural [[thermoplastic]]. In 1851, {{convert|30000|long cwt|kg|abbr=on|lk=in}} of gutta-percha was imported into Britain.<ref name=GPC/> During the second half of the 19th century, gutta-percha was used for many domestic and industrial purposes,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Devil's Milk |last=Tully |first=John |date=2011 |publisher=NYU Press}}</ref> and it became a household word. In particular, it was needed as insulation for [[submarine communications cable#Construction|underwater telegraph cables]],<ref name=GPC>Bill Burns, [http://atlantic-cable.com/Article/GuttaPercha/ The Gutta Percha Company], atlantic-cable.com, accessed 6 October 2010.</ref> which, according to author John Tully, led to [[sustainability|unsustainable]] harvesting and collapse of supply.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tully|first=John|title=A Victorian Ecological Disaster: Imperialism, the Telegraph, and Gutta-Percha|journal=Journal of World History|year=2009|volume=20|issue=4|pages=559–579|doi=10.1353/jwh.0.0088|s2cid=144216751}} [http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/journal_of_world_history/v020/20.4.tully.html muse.jhu.edu]</ref>▼
 
According to Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd's ''Endodontology'': {{quote|Even longLong before Guttagutta-percha was introduced into the Western world, it was used in a less -processed form by the natives of the Malaysian archipelago for making knife handles, walking sticks, and other purposes. The first European to discoverstudy this material was [[John Tradescant the Younger|John Tradescant]], who collected it in the far east in 1656. He named this material "Mazer wood". Dr. [[William Montgomerie]], a medical officer in Indianimperial service, introduced gutta-percha into practical use in the West. He was the first to appreciate the potential of this material in medicine, and he was awarded the gold medal by the Royal Society of Arts, London in 1843.<ref name=prakesh>Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd. [https://web.archive.org/web/20200511081759/http://medind.nic.in/eaa/t05/i2/eaat05i2p32.pdf "Gutta-Percha-: An Untold Story. Prakesh et al. ~2001 Endodontology"]. King's American Dispensatory http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/eclectic/kings isonandra.html {{dead link|date=December 2016}}</ref>}}
 
▲Scientifically classified in 1843, it was found to be a useful natural [[thermoplastic]]. In 1851, {{convert|30000|long cwt|kgt|abbr=on|lk=in}} of gutta-percha was imported into Britain.<ref name=GPC/> During the second half of the 19th century, gutta-percha was used for many domestic and industrial purposes,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Devil's Milk |last=Tully |first=John |date=2011 |publisher=NYU Press}}</ref> and it became a household word. InGutta-percha particular,was itparticularly wasimportant neededfor asthe insulationmanufacture forof [[submarine communications cable#Construction|underwater telegraph cables]],.<ref name=GPC>Bill Burns, [http://atlantic-cable.com/Article/GuttaPercha/ The Gutta Percha Company], atlantic-cable.com, accessed 6 October 2010.</ref> whichIndeed, accordingit made them possible. It does not degrade in seawater and is a good [[electrical insulator]]. These properties, along with its mouldability and flexibility made it ideal for the purpose. There was no other material to authormatch Johnit Tullyin the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aitken |first1=Frédéric |last2=Foulc |first2=Jean-Numa |title=From deep sea to laboratory. 1 : the first explorations of the deep sea by H.M.S. Challenger (1872-1876) |date=2019 |publisher=ISTE-WILEY |location=London, UK |isbn=9781786303745 |pages=16–38 |url=http://www.iste.co.uk/book.php?id=1474 |chapter=1}}</ref> The use in electrical cables generated a huge demand which led to [[sustainability|unsustainable]] harvesting and collapse of supply.<ref>{{cite journal |lastlast1=Tully |firstfirst1=John |title=A Victorian Ecological Disaster: Imperialism, the Telegraph, and Gutta-Percha |journal=Journal of World History |yeardate=2009 |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=559–579 |id={{Project MUSE|367792}} |doi=10.1353/jwh.0.0088 |s2cid=144216751 }} [http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/journal_of_world_history/v020/20.4.tully.html muse.jhu.edu]</ref>
 
====Electrical====
Gutta-percha latex is biologically [[Chemically inert|inert]], resilient, and is a good [[nonconductor|electrical insulator]] with a high [[dielectric strength]].<ref>{{cite Thebook wood|last1=Manappallil of|first1=John manyJ. species|title=Basic isDental alsoMaterials valuable.{{citation needed|date=30 November 20162015 |publisher=JP Medical Ltd |isbn=978-93-5250-048-2 |page=219 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7cAqCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA219 |language=en}}</ref>
 
Western inventors discovered the properties of gutta-percha latex in 1842 through samples sent to England by [[William Montgomerie]],{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} although the people of its [[Malay Peninsula|Malayan]] habitat had used it for many applications for centuries. ([[Michael Faraday|Faraday]] is quoted as having discovered its value as an insulator soon after the introduction of the material to Britain in 1843.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Atlantic Telegraph: Its History, from the Commencement of the Undertaking in 1854, to the Sailing of the "Great Eastern" in 1866.| publisher=Bacon and Company | year=1866| page=108|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CwszAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA108}}</ref>) Allowing this fluid to evaporate and coagulate in the sun produced a latex which could be made flexible again with hot water, but which did not become brittle, unlike [[rubber]] prior to the discovery of [[vulcanized|vulcanization]].{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}
 
By 1845, telegraph wires insulated with gutta-percha were being manufactured in the UK. It served as the insulating material for early undersea telegraph cables, including the first [[transatlantic telegraph cable]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schlesinger |first1=Henry |title=The battery how portable power sparked a technological revolution |date=2010 |publisher=HarperCollins e-books |location=New York |isbn=9780061985294}}</ref> The material was a major constituent of [[Chatterton's compound]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Prescott |first1=George Bartlett |title=Electricity and the Electric Telegraph |date=1881 |publisher=D. Appleton |page=956 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YbhLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA956 |language=en}}</ref> used as an [[electrical insulation|insulating sealant]] for telegraph and other electrical cables.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}
 
The dielectric constant of dried gutta-percha ranges from 2.56 to 3.01. Resistivity of dried gutta-percha ranges from 25 x 10<sup>14</sup>{{val|25e14}} to 370 x 10<sup>14</sup> ohm-cm{{val|370e14|u=Ω⋅cm}}. <ref> {{cite report |author=Curtis, H.L. |title=Dielectric Constant, Power Factor and Resistivity of Rubber and Gutta_Percha |url=https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/nbstechnologic/nbstechnologicpaperT299.pdf |publisher=United States N.I.S.T. }}</ref>
 
Since about 1940, [[polyethylene]] has supplanted gutta-percha as an electrical insulator.<ref>{{citationcite book |last1=Aitken |first1=Frederic |last2=Foulc |first2=Jean-Numa |title=From Deep Sea to Laboratory 1: The First Explorations of the Deep Sea by H.M.S. Challenger (1872-1876) needed|date=November30 2016April 2019 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-78630-374-5 |page=20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5WWRDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 |language=en}}</ref>
 
====Other====
[[File:Southern Chivalry.jpg|thumb|right|Lithograph depicting the [[caning of Charles Sumner]] with a cane made of gutta-percha]]
[[File:Walking cane used to assault Senator Charles SummnerSumner, May 1856 - Old State House Museum, Boston, MA - IMG 6685.JPGjpg|thumb|right|The gutta-percha cane used by [[Preston Brooks]] to attack [[Charles Sumner]] on the floor of the [[United States Senate]] in 1856 (in the collection of the [[Old State House (Boston)|Old State House]] museum, [[Boston, Massachusetts]])]]
In the mid-19th century, gutta-percha was used to make furniture, notably by the [[Gutta Percha Company]], established in 1847.<ref name=GPC/> Several of these ornate, revival-style pieces were shown at the 1851 [[Great Exhibition]] in Hyde Park, London. The company also made a range of utensils.<ref>{{citationcite book |location=London) |first1= |title=Great Exhibition (1851) Reports by the Juries on the Subjects in the Thirty Classes Into which the Exhibition was Divided: Reports, classes XXIX, XXX needed|date=November1852 2016|publisher=Spicer Brothers |page=1740 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bZdDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1740 |language=en|volume=4}}</ref>
 
The "[[guttie]]" golf ball (which had a solid gutta-percha core) revolutionized the game.<ref>{{citationcite book |last1=Burke |first1=James |title=Circles: Fifty Round Trips Through History Technology Science Culture needed|date=November8 2016September 2003 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-4976-8 |page=86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oz-0bacLB60C&pg=PA86 |language=en}}</ref> Gutta-percha was used to make "mourning" jewelry, because it was dark in color and could be easily molded into beads or other shapes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Loeffel-Atkins |first1=Bernadette |title=Widow's Weeds and Weeping Veils: Mourning Rituals in 19th Century America |date=1 April 2012 |publisher=Gettysburg Publishing |isbn=978-1-7346276-1-9 |page=19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxnhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 |language=en}}</ref> Pistol hand grips and rifle shoulder pads were also made from gutta-percha, since it was hard and durable, though it fell into disuse when synthetic [[plastic]]s such as [[Bakelite]] became available.
 
Gutta-percha was used in canes and walking sticks. In 1856, United States [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] [[Preston Brooks]] used a cane made of gutta-percha as a weapon in [[Caning of Charles Sumner|his attack]] on [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Charles Sumner]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Green |first=Michael S. |date=2010 |title=Politics and America in Crisis: The Coming of the Civil War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x80_kiWmx58C&pg=PA94 |location=Santa Barbara, CA |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=94 |isbn=978-0-313-08174-3 |via= Google Books}}</ref>
 
In the 1860s, gutta-percha was used to reinforce the soles of football players' boots before it was banned by [[The Football Association]] in the first codified set of rules in 1863.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/16/football-proposed-new-law-trials-good-idea-kick-ins-flying-substitutions-dribbling-free-kicks-30-minute-halves |title='Faster, sportier, fairer': are football's proposed new law trials a good idea? |work=The Guardian |first=Paul |last=McInnes |date=16 June 2022 |access-date=1 October 2023}}</ref>
Gutta-Percha was also used unsuccessfully in book binding in the 1850's. Most books using this glue are rarely intact and the pages are usually falling apart. Owen Jones and Henry Noel Humphrey in particular used both papier-mache and pressed coal & early plastic/celluloid for their covers. These experimental bindings combined with the gutta-percha glue were shot lived novelties.
 
Gutta-percha was briefly used in [[bookbinding]] until the advent of [[vulcanization]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Bythell|first=Shaun|title=Confessions of a Bookseller|place=Boston|publisher=[[Godine]]|date=2022|page=51|isbn=978-1-56792-722-1}}</ref>
 
The wood of many species is also valuable.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}
 
===Today===
 
====Art====
Gutta-percha is used as a [[resist]] in silk painting,<ref>{{citation |last=Moyer |first=Susan Louise |title = Silk Painting: The Artist's Guide to Gutta and Wax Resist Techniques |publisher=Watson-Guptill Publications |year=1991 | isbn = 0823048284 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Ball |first1=Kazz |last2=Janitch |first2=Valerie |title=Hand Painted Textiles for the Home |publisher=David & Charles Publishers |year=1993 |isbn=0715301578 |page=94}}</ref> including some newer forms of [[batik]].
 
====Dentistry====
[[File:Stifte 48.jpg|thumb|right|Gutta-percha points used in dentistry]]
The same bioinertness that made it suitable for marine cables also means it does not readily react within the human body. It is used in a variety of surgical devices and during [[root canal]] therapy. It is the predominant material used to [[wikt:obturate|obturate]], or fill, the empty space inside the root of a tooth after it has undergone [[endodontic therapy]]. Its physical and chemical properties, including but not limited to its [[chemically inert|inertness]] and [[biocompatibility]], [[melting point]],<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Yee|first1=Fulton S.|last2=Marlin|first2=Jay|last3=Krakow|first3=Alvin Arlen|last4=Gron|first4=Poul|title=Three-dimensional obturation of the root canal using injection-molded, thermoplasticized dental gutta-percha|journal=Journal of Endodontics|volume=3|issue=5|pages=168–174|doi=10.1016/s0099-2399(77)80091-5|year=1977|pmid=266025}}</ref> [[ductility]], and [[malleability]], make it important in [[endodontics]],<ref name=prakesh/> e.g., as gutta-percha points. [[Zinc oxide]] is added to reduce brittleness and improve plasticity. [[Barium sulfate]] is added to provide [[radiopacity]] so that its presence and location can be verified in dental X-ray images.
 
==Substitutes==
Gutta-percha remained an industrial staple well into the 20th century, when it was gradually replaced with superior synthetic materials such as [[Bakelite]], though a similar and cheaper natural material called ''[[balatá]]'' was often used in gutta-percha's place. The two materials are almost identical, and ''balatá ''is often called ''gutta-balatá''.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}
 
==Flotsam==
Blocks of [[flotsam]], about the size of a chopping-board, bearing the name "Tjipetir" (a plantation in the [[Dutch East Indies]]—now [[Indonesia]]—operating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries), were washed up on the beaches of northern Europe for some time through 2013 and 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30043875 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |publisher=BBC |access-date=1 December 2014 |title=Tjipetir mystery: Why are rubber-like blocks washing up on European beaches?}}</ref> They are believed to be blocks of gutta-percha from the Japanese liner ''[[Miyazaki Maru]]'', which was sunk {{convert|150|mi|km}} west of the [[Isles of Scilly]] in 1917.
 
==See also==
*[[Natural rubber]]
*[[Gutta Percha Company]], a company founded in 1845 that made products using gutta-percha
*''[[Gutta-percha Boy]]'', a 1957 Soviet drama film
 
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{{Endodontology}}
{{Non-timber forest products}}
{{authority control}}
 
[[Category:Dentistry]]
[[Category:Palaquium]]
[[Category:Rubber]]
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