Adhesives are substances that hold materials together by surface attachment. Natural adhesives such as beeswax, resin, and bitumen have been used since earliest times. Ancient Egyptians used glue made from animal skin and bones for woodworking. Medieval monks used egg white to bind gold leaf to their illuminated manuscripts. The nineteenth century saw the advent of rubber and pyroxylin cements.

Although adhesive tape was first patented in 1848 by the American Henry Day, and an adhesive bandage was invented by a German pharmacist, Paul Beiersdorf, in 1882, the real advances in adhesive technology came in the twentieth century when synthetic materials were developed. While natural adhesives--such as glue made from animal and plant proteins, pastes of dextrin, starch or latex, and natural rubber, resin, and bitumen--remain in wide use, synthetics now dominate the industry. Synthetic resins are either thermoplastic (softened by heating) or thermosetting...