White glues, such as Elmer's, bond by solvent evaporation. The solvent in Elmer's all-purpose school glue is water. When the water evaporates, the polyvinylacetate latex that has spread into a material's crevices forms a flexible bond. Super glue, on the other hand, undergoes a process called anionic polymerization. The chemical process of polymerization produces a certain amount of heat. If a large enough amount of super glue makes contact with your skin, it can actually cause burns.While super glue will fix your broken coffee cup forever, it could also bond your fingers to it.Cyanoacrylate molecules start linking up when they come into contact with water, and they whip around in chains to form a durable plastic mesh. The glue thickens and hardens until the thrashing molecular strands can no longer move.