Cork’s elasticity combined with its near-impermeability makes it suitable as a material for bottle stoppers, especially for wine bottles. Cork stoppers represent about 60% of all cork based production. Cork has an almost zero Poisson’s ratio, which means the radius of a cork does not change significantly when squeezed or pulled.[11]
Cork is an excellent gasket material. Some carburetor float bowl gaskets are made of cork, for example.
Cork is also an essential element in the production of badminton shuttlecocks.
Cork’s bubble-form structure and natural fire retardant make it suitable for acoustic and thermal insulation in house walls, floors, ceilings and facades. The by-product of more lucrative stopper production, corkboard is gaining popularity as a non-allergenic, easy-to-handle and safe alternative to petrochemical-based insulation products.
Sheets of cork, also often the by-product of stopper production, are used to make bulletin boards as well as floor and wall tiles.
Cork’s low density makes it a suitable material for fishing floats and buoys, as well as handles for fishing rods (as an alternative to neoprene).
Granules of cork can also be mixed into concrete. The composites made by mixing cork granules and cement have lower thermal conductivity, lower density and good energy absorption. Some of the property ranges of the composites are density (400–1500 kg/m³), compressive strength (1–26 MPa) and flexural strength.
Cork is used in musical instruments, particularly woodwind instruments, where it is used to fasten together segments of the instrument, making the seams airtight. Low quality conducting baton handles are also often made out of cork.
It is also used in shoes, especially those using welt construction to improve climate control and comfort.
Because it is impermeable and moisture-resistant, cork is often used as an alternative to leather in handbags, wallets and other fashion items.
Cork can be used to make bricks for the outer walls of houses, as in Portugal’s pavilion at Expo 2000.
Cork is used as the core of both baseballs and cricket balls. A corked bat is made by replacing the interior of a baseball bat with cork – a practice known as “corking”. It was historically a method of cheating at baseball; the efficacy of the practice is now discredited.
Cork is often used, in various forms, in spacecraft heat shields and fairings.
Cork can be used in the paper pick-up mechanisms in inkjet and laser printers.
Cork is used to make later-model pith helmets.
Corks are also hung from hats to keep insects away.
Cork has been used as a core material in sandwich composite construction.
Cork can be used as the friction lining material of an automatic transmission clutch, as designed in certain mopeds.
Cork can be used instead of wood or aluminium in automotive interiors.
Cork slabs are sometimes used by orchid growers as a natural mounting material.
Cork paddles are used by glass blowers to manipulate and shape hot molten glass.
Many racing bicycles have their handlebars wrapped in cork-based tape manufactured in a variety of colors.
