An adhesive, or glue, is a mixture in a liquid or semi-liquid state that adheres or bonds items together. Adhesives may come from either natural or synthetic sources. The types of materials that can be bonded are vast but they are especially useful for bonding thin materials. Adhesives cure (harden) by either evaporating a solvent or by chemical reactions that occur between two or more constituents.
Adhesives are advantageous for joining thin or dissimilar materials, minimizing weight, and when a vibration dampening joint is needed. A disadvantage of adhesives is that they do not form an instantaneous joint, unlike most other joining processes, because the adhesive needs time to cure.
Adhesives are typically organized by the method of adhesion. These are then organized into reactive and non-reactive adhesives, which refers to if the adhesive chemically reacts to harden. Alternatively they can be organized by whether the raw stock is of natural, or synthetic origin, or by their starting physical phase.
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