Plastic (from the Greek plassein, meaning to mold or shape a soft substance) was originally invented as a substitute for natural resources; by the end of the twentieth century, however, it had become a material in its own right, no longer simulating...

Plastics are a subspecies of a class of materials known as polymers. These are composed of large molecules, formed by joining many, often thousands, of smaller molecules (monomers) together. Other kinds of polymers are fibers, films, elastomers...

Technologies have world-shaping powers. They have fundamentally changed ways of thinking as much as they influenced social practices. Plastics form a striking case. Human beings are surrounded by plastics, in their computers, clothes, cars, kitchens,...

The word "plastic" was originally an adjective describing a material that could flow. Its first use as a noun came with the introduction of Bakelite and Celluloid in the early 1900s. The word is now used to mean a substance which can be pressed into...

At the beginning of the twentieth century manufacturers made consumer goods and electrical insulation from natural materials like shellac, rubber, cellulose, and camphor. Leo Hendrik Baekeland's (1863-1944) invention of Bakelite in 1907 ushered...

The term plastic refers to any material that can be shaped or molded. In this sense, ordinary clay or a soft wax is a plastic material. Perhaps more commonly, plastic has become the term used to describe a class of synthetic materials more accurately...

Plastics are a type of polymer characterized by the fact that they can be molded with heat. Thermoset polymers are extremely rigid and once molded and hardened cannot be remelted. Thermoplastic materials are softer, more flexible and may be remelted....

Polymers that can be molded or shaped, usually by heat and pressure. Most are lightweight, transparent, tough organic compounds that do not conduct electricity well. They fall into two classes: Thermoplastics (e.g., polyethylene, polystyrene) can be...

Polymeric materials. When discarded, these constitute a significant part of the solid waste stream and are suitable for recycling. Plastics are labeled for recycling. 1 PET–Polyethylene terephthalate 2 HDPE – High density polyethylene 3 V...

Plastic is the general term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic polymerization products.They are composed of organic condensation or addition polymers and may contain other substances to improve performance or economics. There are many...