Evolution of Plastics and
its Use in Appliances
Plastic materials have experience rapid growth
in the appliance industry all over the world
because of its versatility. They have grown from
1% content 25 years ago to more than 25% by
weight and more than 60% by volume.
Introduction
Every day we read about plastic. On
one side Mumbai talks about banning
use of plastic bags and on the other
side it has been proved in Bangalore
that plastic increases durability of
roads. NASA works on developing
plastic that can be used for space
shuttle liners to give better heat resistance.
Let us consider a typical day of
all of us. Can we think of life without
plastic? From the time we get up and
brush our teeth, taking bath, driving a
vehicle, taking water bottles from refrigerators,
using mixers/food processors/
microwave ovens, wearing synthetic
cloths, spectacles, watches,
pens, computers, telephones, televisions,
electric switches, fan regulators,
air conditioners. The list will never end.
In today’s world, life without plastic is
incomprehensible. Plastic has gone to
the extent of replacing vital body parts.
History
Mankind has been using
natural plastics for thousands
of years. For example,
the early Egyptians soaked
burial wrappings in natural
resins to help preserve their
dead. People have been using
animal horns and turtle
shells (which contain natural
resins) for centuries to
make items such as spoons,
combs and buttons.
The first man-made
plastic was unveiled by
Alexander Parkes at the
1862 Great International Exhibition
in London. This
material - which the public
dubbed Parkesine - was an
organic material derived
from cellulose that once
heated could be moulded
but that retained its shape
when cooled. Parkes
claimed that this new material
could do anything rubber
was capable of, but at a
lower price.
Even though first plastic was made
in 1862, the first completely synthetic
substance did not emerge until 1907,
when chemist Leo Baekeland was
cooking up chemicals in his Yonkers,
N.Y., garage, hoping to develop an insulator
for the new electrical wires.
Baekeland created a liquid resin that
hardened into a transparent, amber
solid that wouldn’t burn, boil, melt or
dissolve — even in acid. This was
Bakelite; the “Material of a Thousand
Uses” was soon found not only in
electrical insulation, but also in
jewellery, ashtrays and — its greatest
triumph — the classic black dial telephone.
....contd.
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