Plastics

The search for a lightweight, nonbreakable, moldable material began with the invention of vulcanized rubber. The material is derived from natural rubber, which is a semi-solid, elastic, natural polymer. Vulcanized rubber is harder than natural rubber and retains it's elastic properties over a wide range of temperatures.

In 1845 as vulcanized rubber was becoming popular, a swiss chemistry professor, Christian Schobein wiped up a spilled mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids with a cotton rag that he later hung up to dry. Within a couple mi urea, the rag burst into flames, leaving only a little bit of ash. Schobein had discovered nitrocellulose, in which most of the hydroxyl groups in cellulose are bonded to nitrate groups.

French researchers discovered that solvents such as diethyl either and alcohol transformed nitrocellulose to a gel that could be molded into various shapes. When spread out thinly on a flat surface, the gel dried to a tough, clear, transparent film later known as **collodion**. In 1855, collodion was exploited by a British inventor and chemist Alexander Parkes, who marketed the material as parkesine. He chose quantity over quality. In 1870, Jon Hyatt, inventor from New York discovered using camphor as a solvent improved collodion's moldable properties. It became plastic of choice for household items because of its greater workability. The transparent films from celluloid made excellent supports for photosensitive emulsions that helped the photography industry and later became the first step for motion pictures. Because of the flammability, the only product used today that is made of celluloid are ping pong balls.

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