How do rubbers/erasers work?
Consider the three elements; the paper, the graphite, and the eraser. The surface of the paper is comprise of ridges and bumps, microscopically. When you write on the paper, graphite is worn off the pencil tip, the graphite particles interlock with the ridges on the paper. Then comes the eraser. The eraser’s surface is something that the graphite likes to stick to more than paper. As the eraser is rubbed and worn on the page, most every graphite particle it touches has a better bond with it than the paper. The eraser “dust” that is left over is worn off eraser particles with graphite stuck to it. Ink erasers work differently. Ink penetrates the fibers of the paper and an ordinary pencil eraser does not remove the ink. Ink erasers are much harder than pencil erasers and remove ink from paper by abrading the paper fibers coated with ink and thereby removing the ink marking.
