Posted
on February 16, 2015
“Necessity
is the mother of invention.”
That
old saying means that, when faced with a problem and trying to come
up with a solution, people often come up with new ideas. They invent
new procedures or create new devices. They innovate!
In
the 1930s, the U.S. faced the problem of having a pretty yucky
relationship with Japan. And the relationship was getting worse and
worse, not better. (In just a few years, the two nations would be
fighting against each other in World War II!)
One
of the problems with a bad-and-getting-worse relationship with Japan
was that the latter nation was the world's leading producer of silk.
And Americans used and wanted silk. We didn't want to have to rely on
an enemy for one of our favorite fabrics!
So...the
necessity of wanting to find a substitute for silk led to the
invention of nylon!
A
bit of history, a dab of science...
Today
is the anniversary of the 1937 patent for nylon, issued to Wallace H.
Carothers.
Carothers
and other chemists working for DuPont knew about polymers, huge
molecules made of long chains of repeated elements. They were trying
to come up with a polymer that would make a useful fabric, but as
they created fibers, a small amount of water was produced; the water
would drip back into the mixture and weaken the fibers.
Carothers
had to use a machine called a “molecular still,” which pulled out
the fibers once they had cooled. Now the fibers were much longer and
stronger, and more “elastic” or able to resume normal shape after
being pulled or otherwise distorted.
Nylon
was soon being used for toothbrushes, women's stockings, parachutes,
bridal veils, flak vests, carpets, tents, rope, and so much more!
Nylon
was the first commercially successful human-made polymer. Since its
invention, many more polymers have been invented and sold and used
and enjoyed. Just a few more include Kevlar, Mylar, Orlon, Teflon,
and polyvinylchloride (PVC).
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