Inventors & Developers Of Common Plastics
The middle years of the 19th century saw the beginning of the use of plastic and rubber to produce varieties of products, although natural rubber had been widely used by people for several hundreds and even thousands of years, but the 20th century was truly when plastics were produced and widely used. There are many chemists that have made contributions to the history of the plastic industry and just a few are mentioned in the succeeding paragraphs.
One of the pioneering persons in this industry and the person who made attempts to find ways to make rubber more durable was Charles Goodyear. Rubber products then were unable to handle the extremes in temperatures of the season, although rubber was already used for several items. His theory then was to transform rubber into a more durable substance that can withstand extreme heat and cold and Goodyear theorized that this can be done by combining rubber with other substances. Charles Goodyear is largely credited for inventing this process although he did not perfect it, and it is now known as vulcanization.
Thomas Hancock was the developer of vulcanite, which was rubber that was vulcanized with sulfur. Hancock actually filed a patent before Goodyear, and there is some debate as to whether or not Hancock actually invented vulcanization or was simply inspired by Goodyear's experiments. At any rate, Hancock did invent the machines that processed the rubber and this became a booming industry. His friend also named the process of vulcanization after Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.
From the 1840s until the early 1900s, many scientists continued studying and developing different plastics. One of the first highly usable plastics was Bakelite, which was invented by Leo Baekeland in 1907. This plastic, which is created through a reaction between phenol and formaldehyde, was widely used until the mid-20th century to make kitchen wear, radios, jewelry and toys. It is widely known as the first thermoset plastic. Thermoset plastics are a type of plastic that can be used just once to create a specific material. Thermoplastics, on the other hand, can be re-melted and used again and again.
Throughout the 19th century and the early 20th century, some plastics were developed by accident. On two separate occasions, a specific type of plastic was accidentally discovered, and this was PVC. The accidental discoveries were done in 1835 and in 1872, the first by a French chemist and the second by a German chemist. Waldo Semon, a chemist then working for B.F. Goodrich later invented and developed a highly usable version of PVC, and this was in 1926. Vinyl, one of the world's widely used plastic was invented by Semon also. Strong and durable plastic pipes, strong door frames, insulation for cables, and many more, are made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and the work is credited to Semon who held more than 100 patents for this.
Other plastic products also were discovered accidentally, such as polytetrafluoroethylene, or Teflon as it is known commonly. It was a chemist named Roy Plunkett who discovered this, and he accidentally made the discovery while trying to develop refrigerant. Polyethylene, a kind of thermoplastic used in the manufacture of a variety of thermoformed packages and other products, also was discovered accidentally by a German chemist, and this was the year 1898, although it wasn't until the 1930s that this plastic was used widely.
One of the pioneering persons in this industry and the person who made attempts to find ways to make rubber more durable was Charles Goodyear. Rubber products then were unable to handle the extremes in temperatures of the season, although rubber was already used for several items. His theory then was to transform rubber into a more durable substance that can withstand extreme heat and cold and Goodyear theorized that this can be done by combining rubber with other substances. Charles Goodyear is largely credited for inventing this process although he did not perfect it, and it is now known as vulcanization.
Thomas Hancock was the developer of vulcanite, which was rubber that was vulcanized with sulfur. Hancock actually filed a patent before Goodyear, and there is some debate as to whether or not Hancock actually invented vulcanization or was simply inspired by Goodyear's experiments. At any rate, Hancock did invent the machines that processed the rubber and this became a booming industry. His friend also named the process of vulcanization after Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.
From the 1840s until the early 1900s, many scientists continued studying and developing different plastics. One of the first highly usable plastics was Bakelite, which was invented by Leo Baekeland in 1907. This plastic, which is created through a reaction between phenol and formaldehyde, was widely used until the mid-20th century to make kitchen wear, radios, jewelry and toys. It is widely known as the first thermoset plastic. Thermoset plastics are a type of plastic that can be used just once to create a specific material. Thermoplastics, on the other hand, can be re-melted and used again and again.
Throughout the 19th century and the early 20th century, some plastics were developed by accident. On two separate occasions, a specific type of plastic was accidentally discovered, and this was PVC. The accidental discoveries were done in 1835 and in 1872, the first by a French chemist and the second by a German chemist. Waldo Semon, a chemist then working for B.F. Goodrich later invented and developed a highly usable version of PVC, and this was in 1926. Vinyl, one of the world's widely used plastic was invented by Semon also. Strong and durable plastic pipes, strong door frames, insulation for cables, and many more, are made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and the work is credited to Semon who held more than 100 patents for this.
Other plastic products also were discovered accidentally, such as polytetrafluoroethylene, or Teflon as it is known commonly. It was a chemist named Roy Plunkett who discovered this, and he accidentally made the discovery while trying to develop refrigerant. Polyethylene, a kind of thermoplastic used in the manufacture of a variety of thermoformed packages and other products, also was discovered accidentally by a German chemist, and this was the year 1898, although it wasn't until the 1930s that this plastic was used widely.
About the Author:
Lenna Stockwell enjoys blogging about how stuff is made. To get further information about plastic thermoforming or to find out more about plastic food packaging solutions, please check out the Indepak.com site now.
You are receiving this because you signed up for it on 2013-09-29 from IP
To fine-tune your selection of which articles to receive, just login here
using your username:
To unsubscribe please use the following link:
Unsubscribe
0 comments:
Post a Comment