Natural and artificial rubber and rubber-like polymers, as well as swollen rigid-chain polymers, are typical high-elasticity materials within different temperature ranges (mainly from -100 to 200°C). The high elastic state is one of the physical states of amorphous polymers, when they can reversibly extend within a significant range (up to hundreds of percent). The elastic strain of solid polymers is due to changing interatomic and intermolecular distances and bond angle strains of a polymer chain, and the high elastic strain is due to the orientation and movement of segments of macromolecules. Cross-linking prevents the irreversible displacement of macromolecules and viscous flow of elastomer as a whole. Cross-linked polymers, as well as elastic solids can reshape almost completely after the load is removed; the shape change versus the original one is called hysteresis and depends on the magnitude and frequency of load application, strain and temperature.

Elastomers are widely used in technology in a variety of rubber products (seals, valves, gaskets, shock absorbers, etc.), vehicle and aircraft tires, etc. The main technical properties of elastomers are a low modulus, a large reversible strain, low deformation set after the load is removed, good damping characteristics. The requirement of stability of those properties over time leads to the use of elastomers in temperature and load time-frequency ranges, where the strain is relatively close to equilibrium.