---
title: "What is it made of? Everyday objects taken apart"
description: "Tennis balls, banknotes, tyres, toothpaste, airbags, glitter — what each is actually made of, component by component, and why those materials."
url: https://atoneplace.net/made-of/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What is it made of?

95 everyday objects taken apart. Each page lists the components and, for every one, the constraint that made that material the right choice — because a list of materials is a specification, and a specification with reasons is an explanation.

## Sport and games

- [Tennis ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tennis-ball/) — A pressurised hollow shell of vulcanised rubber, covered in a glued-on wool and nylon felt.
- [Golf ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/golf-ball/) — A moulded polybutadiene rubber core inside an ionomer or urethane cover, dimpled all over.
- [Soccer ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/soccer-ball/) — Polyurethane outer panels over a laminated fabric backing, wrapped around a latex or butyl bladder.
- [Basketball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/basketball/) — A pebbled composite or leather cover over nylon winding and a butyl rubber bladder.
- [Cricket ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/cricket-ball/) — A cork core tightly wound with wool yarn, cased in four pieces of dyed leather with a stitched seam.
- [Bowling ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/bowling-ball/) — A dense shaped weight block inside a filler, wrapped in a polyester, urethane or reactive resin coverstock.

## Around the house

- [Banknote](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/banknote/) — Cotton and linen rag paper, or polymer film — never wood pulp, which is why notes survive the wash.
- [Lego brick](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/lego-brick/) — ABS plastic moulded to a tolerance of about ten micrometres — the tightness of the fit is the whole product.
- [Soap](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/soap/) — Fats reacted with lye to make fatty acid salts — and most modern "beauty bars" are not soap at all.
- [Toothpaste](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/toothpaste/) — Mostly abrasive and humectant, with a detergent for foam — the active ingredient is about 0.15% fluoride.
- [Coin](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/coin/) — Base-metal alloys chosen for wear and cost — most modern "silver" coins are copper-nickel and most "copper" ones are plated steel or zinc.
- [Sunscreen](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/sunscreen/) — UV filters — mineral, chemical or both — suspended in an emulsion whose job is to hold them in an even film.
- [Credit card](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/credit-card/) — Laminated PVC sheets 0.76 mm thick, carrying a silicon chip in epoxy and a copper antenna coil.
- [Candle](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/candle/) — Wax that is really a fuel, and a braided cotton wick that acts as a pump rather than as the thing burning.
- [Lipstick](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/lipstick/) — Castor oil carrying pigment, set into a stick with waxes — the oil is the workhorse, not the colour.
- [Shampoo](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/shampoo/) — Three-quarters water, a primary detergent, a milder secondary one, salt to thicken, and silicone to make hair feel smooth.
- [Balloon](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/balloon/) — Party balloons are dipped natural rubber latex; foil balloons are metallised plastic film and are not rubber at all.
- [Deodorant](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/deodorant/) — Deodorant kills the bacteria that cause the smell; antiperspirant uses aluminium salts to plug the sweat duct. Different products.
- [Toothbrush](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/toothbrush/) — Nylon filaments stapled into a polypropylene handle with a wire — three plastics that cannot be separated for recycling.
- [Match](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/match/) — An oxidiser and a fuel in the head, with the phosphorus that starts it moved onto the striking strip.
- [All 21](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/household/)

## Stationery and paper

- [Pencil](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/pencil/) — Graphite mixed with clay and fired, glued inside two grooved halves of softwood. No lead, ever.
- [Paper](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/paper/) — Cellulose fibres from wood pulp, plus up to a third mineral filler, sizing and brightener.
- [Ballpoint pen](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/ballpoint-pen/) — A tungsten carbide ball a millimetre across, rolling in a brass socket, fed by thick oil-based ink.
- [Glitter](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/glitter/) — Aluminium-coated polyester film, colour-coated and chopped into fragments — by definition a microplastic.
- [Crayon](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/crayon/) — Paraffin wax with pigment stirred in, poured hot into a mould and cooled. Almost nothing else.
- [Cardboard](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/cardboard/) — Two flat kraft paper liners glued either side of a fluted paper medium — the flutes do all the work.
- [Eraser](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/eraser/) — Either natural rubber with fine abrasive and oil, or plasticised PVC — two different ways of lifting graphite.
- [Blackboard chalk](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/chalk/) — Mostly calcium sulfate — plaster of Paris — rather than the calcium carbonate the name suggests.
- [Playing card](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/playing-card/) — Two sheets of paper laminated around a black glue core, then coated in plastic — or solid PVC.
- [Postage stamp](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/postage-stamp/) — Coated paper with phosphor bands, printed in security inks, on either water-activated gum or a self-adhesive.

## Cars and driving

- [Car tire](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tire/) — Several different rubber compounds reinforced with steel and textile cord — closer to a composite than to rubber.
- [Car battery](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/car-battery/) — Lead and lead dioxide plates in dilute sulfuric acid, in a polypropylene case — mostly lead, by weight.
- [Airbag](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/airbag/) — A coated nylon bag inflated by a small solid-propellant gas generator in about thirty milliseconds.
- [Brake pad](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/brake-pad/) — A friction compound of fibres, fillers and resin, moulded and bonded onto a steel backing plate.
- [Windshield (windscreen)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/windshield/) — Two sheets of ordinary glass laminated to a tough plastic interlayer, which is what stops it falling out.
- [Spark plug](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/spark-plug/) — A ceramic insulator carrying a centre electrode of nickel, platinum or iridium inside a steel shell.
- [Seatbelt](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/seatbelt/) — Woven polyester webbing designed to stretch a controlled amount, plus a locking retractor and a pyrotechnic pretensioner.

## Building materials

- [Glass](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/glass/) — Sand melted with soda ash and limestone — three cheap minerals, floated flat on molten tin.
- [Concrete](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/concrete/) — Stone and sand glued by cement paste — and it hardens by a chemical reaction with water, not by drying.
- [MDF](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/mdf/) — Wood pulled apart into individual fibres, mixed with resin and wax, and pressed hot into a board.
- [Road asphalt](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/asphalt/) — About 95% crushed stone and sand, glued together by roughly 5% bitumen from the bottom of an oil refinery.
- [Brick](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/brick/) — Clay and shale moulded and fired until the particles partly fuse — a manufactured rock.
- [Mirror](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/mirror/) — A sheet of ordinary glass with a microscopically thin silver layer on the back, sealed under paint.
- [Plywood](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/plywood/) — Thin wood veneers glued in alternating grain directions — the cross-lamination is the entire idea.

## Food and drink

- [Marshmallow](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/marshmallow/) — Sugar syrup whipped full of air and held there by gelatin, which comes from animal collagen.
- [Chewing gum](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/chewing-gum/) — A base of synthetic rubber, wax and resin that you never swallow, carrying sweetener and flavour that you do.
- [Chocolate](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/chocolate/) — Ground cocoa solids and cocoa butter with sugar, plus a trace of lecithin — the fat does the rest.
- [Gelatin](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/gelatin/) — Collagen from animal skin and bone, broken down with acid or alkali and dried. There is no plant version.
- [Cheese](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/cheese/) — Milk protein clotted by an enzyme, drained of whey and salted — four ingredients and a lot of time.
- [Bread](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/bread/) — Flour, water, yeast and salt — plus, in most factory loaves, enzymes, emulsifiers and a mould inhibitor.
- [Potato chips (crisps)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/potato-chips/) — Thin potato slices fried in vegetable oil, seasoned with a maltodextrin-carried flavour powder, packed in nitrogen.
- [Tofu](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tofu/) — Soy milk curdled with a mineral salt and pressed — cheese-making, with soybeans instead of milk.

## Clothing and kit

- [Velcro (hook and loop)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/velcro/) — Two nylon tapes — one of stiff hooks, one of soft loops — copied directly from burdock burrs.
- [Leather](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/leather/) — Animal hide whose collagen has been chemically stabilised so it cannot rot — usually with chromium salts.
- [Gore-Tex](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/gore-tex/) — A stretched PTFE membrane whose pores are far too small for a raindrop and far too big for a water vapour molecule.
- [Denim](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/denim/) — A cotton twill with indigo-dyed warp and undyed weft — the dye sits on the fibre surface, which is why it fades.
- [Helmet](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/helmet/) — A hard shell to spread the blow over a crushable polystyrene foam liner that is destroyed by one impact.
- [Bulletproof vest](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/body-armor/) — Many layers of woven aramid or polyethylene fibre that catch and deform a bullet; rifle threats need a ceramic plate.
- [Zip (zipper)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/zipper/) — Teeth of metal, moulded acetal or nylon coil on a polyester tape, forced together by a wedge inside the slider.
- [Synthetic leather](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/synthetic-leather/) — A polyurethane or PVC skin on a textile backing — including the plant-based ones, which still need a plastic binder.
- [Running shoe](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/running-shoe/) — A knitted synthetic upper over a foam midsole and rubber outsole — about a dozen materials, all glued together.
- [Shoe sole](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/shoe-sole/) — A rubber outsole for grip, a foam midsole for cushioning, and increasingly no clean way to separate them.
- [Wetsuit](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/wetsuit/) — Closed-cell neoprene foam full of nitrogen bubbles, faced with stretch jersey — the gas insulates, not the water.
- [Life jacket](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/life-jacket/) — Closed-cell foam or a CO2-inflated bladder, in a nylon cover — rated in newtons of buoyancy, not in size.
- [Button](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/button/) — Usually cast polyester resin; the good ones are shell, nut or horn, and you can tell by touch and temperature.

## Electronics

- [Alkaline battery](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/alkaline-battery/) — Zinc powder and manganese dioxide either side of a potassium hydroxide paste, in a steel can.
- [Smartphone screen](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/smartphone-screen/) — Chemically strengthened aluminosilicate glass over a touch layer and an OLED or LCD panel, with an oil-shedding coating on top.
- [Solar panel](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/solar-panel/) — Doped silicon wafers with silver contacts, sealed between low-iron glass and a plastic backsheet in an aluminium frame.
- [LED bulb](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/led-bulb/) — Blue LED chips under a yellow phosphor, plus a driver circuit and a heat sink — and it is the driver that dies.
- [Touchscreen](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/touchscreen/) — A grid of transparent electrodes measuring the tiny capacitance your finger adds — which is why gloves fail.
- [Computer keyboard](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/keyboard/) — ABS or PBT keycaps over either a silicone rubber dome on printed film, or individual mechanical switches.
- [Headphones](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/headphone/) — A neodymium magnet, a coil of copper wire and a thin plastic diaphragm — a loudspeaker shrunk to fit an ear.
- [Loudspeaker](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/speaker/) — A paper or plastic cone hung on a rubber surround, driven by a coil in a magnet gap.
- [Computer mouse](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/computer-mouse/) — An ABS shell around a tiny camera taking thousands of pictures a second, plus two clicky microswitches and PTFE feet.

## Musical instruments

- [Guitar string](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/guitar-string/) — A high-carbon steel core with a wrap of nickel or bronze — or, on a classical guitar, nylon.
- [Piano key](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/piano-key/) — A spruce or basswood lever with an acrylic top and a plastic sharp — ivory has been out of use for decades.
- [Violin bow](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/violin-bow/) — A pernambuco or carbon fibre stick strung with horsehair, which grips the string only because of rosin.
- [Drum head](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/drum-head/) — A polyester film tucked into an aluminium hoop with epoxy — plastic replaced calfskin in the 1950s.

## Medical and personal care

- [Condom](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/condom/) — Dipped natural rubber latex, or synthetic polyisoprene or polyurethane for latex allergy — plus silicone lubricant.
- [Surgical mask](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/surgical-mask/) — Three layers of polypropylene, of which only the electrostatically charged middle one does the filtering.
- [Diaper (nappy)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/diaper/) — A superabsorbent polymer that holds many times its own weight in fluid, sandwiched between nonwoven plastic layers.
- [Contact lens](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/contact-lens/) — A water-swollen polymer gel — and the whole design problem is getting oxygen through it to the cornea.
- [Dental filling](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/dental-filling/) — Either a mercury-silver amalgam or a light-cured resin packed with glass — and the resin shrinks as it sets.
- [Tampon](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tampon/) — Compressed cotton, rayon or a blend, with a withdrawal cord and either a cardboard or plastic applicator.
- [Eyeglass lens](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/eyeglass-lens/) — Almost never glass — usually CR-39, polycarbonate or a high-index plastic, under several thin coatings.
- [Adhesive bandage (plaster)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/adhesive-bandage/) — A plastic or fabric backing with pressure-sensitive adhesive, and a pad faced with a film that will not stick to the wound.
- [Artificial hip](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/artificial-hip/) — A titanium or cobalt-chrome stem, a ceramic or metal ball, and a crosslinked polyethylene socket liner that is the wear surface.
- [Syringe](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/syringe/) — A polypropylene barrel and plunger with a rubber tip seal, and a stainless steel needle on a standard taper.

## Common questions

### What are banknotes made of?

Not wood pulp. Traditional notes are a cotton and linen blend, which is why they survive a wash; many countries have moved to a polymer film instead.

### What is glitter made of?

Almost always aluminised polyester film — a microplastic. Which is why several jurisdictions have restricted it.