Posted
on April 6, 2014
How
often has this happened – it was discovered by accident!
On
this date in 1938, Dr. Roy Plunket and his assistant were working in
the DuPont lab in New Jersey. They couldn't get the TFE gas to flow
from its cylinder as usual, so they investigated the cylinder,
pushing a wire through the valve opening in case there was a
blockage, unscrewing the valve, and finally cutting open the
cylinder.
They
found that the TFE gas had become a waxy solid. Instead of just
chucking away the now-ruined cylinder and grabbing another container
of TFE gas, and going on with what they were SUPPOSED to be doing,
Plunket and his assistant took the time to investigate the
polymerized substance.
And
what they found was good: It resisted corrosion. It was really
slippery. It had high heat resistance. It seemed like something that
could be very handy!
The
TFE gas they expected to find is TetraFluoroEthylene, and the
polymerized solid they did find is PolyTetraFluoroEthylene, or PTFE.
But once DuPont decided to market cookware coated with the stuff, a
much shorter name was needed. You're probably way ahead of me at this
point: DuPont decided to call the coating Teflon.
There
are other PTFE coatings, with other names and put out by other
companies. Also, PTFE is used as a lubricant and as a graft material
in surgeries.
One
reason Teflon is so useful is that it is pretty inert – which means
that it doesn't react much at all with other substances. The
carbon-fluorine chemical bonds are so strong that most corrosive
chemicals can't break them. Even water rolls off without really
getting Teflon wet!
- Some people worry about the safety of non-stick coatings on pans. They're safe, but only if used carefully. Check out the six pointers at the end of this article.
Also
on this date:
Be
sure to check out the story of Robert Garrett, pictured here. It's
pretty strange and cool!
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
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here are my Pinterest boards for:
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