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for a wine bottle]] corks]] , as a substitute for Linoleum or Tiles .]] Cork material is a subset of generic . Cork's Elasticity combined with its near-impermeability makes it suitable as a material for Bottle Stoppers , especially for Wine Bottle s. Cork stoppers represent about 60% of all cork based production. Cork's low Density makes it a suitable material for Fishing Floats and buoys, as well as handles for Fishing Rod s (as an alternative to Neoprene ). Cork is also used in the manufacture of musical instruments, particularly Woodwind Instrument s, where it is used to fasten together different segments of the instrument and make the seams airtight. Sheets of cork, often the by-product of more lucrative stopper production, are used to make Floor Tiles and Bulletin Board s. Granules of cork can also be mixed into Concrete . The composites made by mixing cork granules and cement have low thermal conductivity, low density and good energy absorption characteristics. Some of the property ranges of the composites are density (400–1500 kg/m³), compressive strength (1–26 MPa) and flexural strength (0.5–4.0 MPa). Karade SR. 2003. An Investigation of Cork Cement Composites. PhD Thesis. BCUC. Brunel University, UK. The cork industry is generally regarded as environmentally friendly. The Sustainability of its production and the easy Recycling of cork products and by-products are two of its most distinctive aspects. One of the leading companies in the cork industry is the Amorim Group, from Portugal. Cork demand has increased due to a larger proportion of Wine being sealed with cork rather than being sold in bulk. Since a tree's Bark can only be harvested once a decade or so, supply is highly Inelastic . Top quality corks are quite expensive, so many cheaper brands have switched to lower quality cork, synthetic Plastic stoppers, Screwcap s, or other closures. Because synthetic stoppers do not dry out and shrink, wine bottles with synthetic corks do not have to be stored on their sides to prevent the wine from Oxidizing . Cork contamination with harmless but foul-smelling Trichloroanisole (TCA) is one of the primary causes of Cork Taint in wine. For these reasons, a few wineries are now switching away from cork. As late as the mid 1600s, French wine makers did not use cork stoppers. Instead, they used oil-soaked rags stuffed into the necks of bottles.Prlewe, J. Wine From Grape to Glass. New York: Abbeville Press, 1999, p. 110. Cork has been used in rocket technology due to its fire resistance. Cork can also be used as bricks for the outer wall of a house (this was done in Portugal's pavilion at Expo 2000 ). The Cork Oak is unrelated to the "cork trees" ('' Phellodendron ''), which have corky bark but are not used for cork production. SEE ALSO
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