The Intricate Science Behind How Erasers Work

How do erasers actually work? It’s more complicated than you think

Pencil marks, composed of graphite flakes, adhere to paper fibers through weak van der Waals interactions. Erasers, with a higher affinity for graphite, mechanically lift and trap these flakes while also slightly abrading the paper. Unlike pencil, ink seeps into paper, requiring erasable pens to use heat-activated chemistry to render ink transparent.

By TOI Science Desk