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The Glory Years |
When nylon was introduced as a substitute for silk in stockings in 1937, the new material--strong, cheap, and easy to work with--became an unqualified commercial hit. The instant success of nylon fibers and neoprene, the first synthetic rubber, taught the polymer industry an important lesson--that basic research can lead to products that can replace natural materials. It can also eventually lead to Nobel prizes. Paul Flory of Stanford University received one for his career contributions to polymer science while working in both academic and industrial laboratories. Flory was instrumental in developing the theory of how polymer molecules behave, especially through mathematical and statistical analysis of the shape and properties of polymer chains.
The 1930s were the glory years for the development of new synthetic polymers, producing polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), and polystyrene, which together would revolutionize the fabric, coating, houseware, packaging, and insulation industries. These new materials bore no resemblance to their raw materials (which were commonly oil or natural gas) and were celebrated for their very artificiality. Because many of these polymers became malleable when heated, they came to be called "plastics" from the Greek word meaning "able to be molded."
Another important development beginning in the late 1930s and 1940s was the large-scale production of artificial rubber, spurred by the booming automobile industry and the military demands of World War II. By 1930, two new forms of artificial rubber had been developed in Germany, both based on the petroleum byproduct butadiene. As tensions grew in Europe, the U.S. government recognized the vulnerability of the nation's rubber supply and in 1941 established the Rubber Reserve Company to produce 10,000 tons of rubber annually. By the middle of 1942 the production goal had soared to 850,000 tons annually in response to the Japanese occupation of the East Indies, whose vast rubber tree plantations had supplied the world with the raw material for rubber. Polymer scientists and engineers worked together to develop a variety of new processes to meet wartime demands. One of the most important was a light-scattering technique developed by Peter Debye of Cornell University, who used it to determine the molecular weight and sizes of very long polymers. Polymer scientists used this knowledge to analyze the artificial rubber. Modern versions of his technique are invaluable to researchers characterizing complex molecules.
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