1856

Plastic

Alexander Parkes (1813–1890)

Although humans have used naturally occurring plastics such as rubber and collagen for millennia, the first manmade plastic was Parkesine, patented by Alexander Parkes in 1856. Today, the amount of plastic that surrounds us is nearly indescribable. The affordability, malleability, and durability of plastic makes it an ideal material.

One reason for the widespread use of plastic is the work of chemical engineers, who have used mass-scale processes in factories to make the production of plastic so inexpensive. Another factor is the contribution of mechanical engineers and industrial engineers who design the parts and create the molding systems to produce shaped plastic objects. Plastic is also lightweight, strong for its weight, corrosion-free, easily molded, and it comes in so many forms with many different properties. While Parkesine, made of cellulose, was often used to create synthetic ivory, modern plastics are normally made of other, higher-quality components. Polyethylene is made of long chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms, so it is essentially solidified gasoline. The length of the chains, the amount of branching, and the amount of polymerization gives polyethylene its many different properties.

Engineers and scientists have worked together to create hundreds of other types of plastics as well. Some plastics form fibers that become soft cloth or pillow stuffing. Nylon fibers, produced by Wallace Carothers at Dupont in 1935, create a strong, abrasion-resistant fabric for parachutes, backpacks, and tents. Kevlar was developed later, and is strong enough for use in bulletproof vests. Some plastics are rubbery and they become seals, gaskets, O-rings, wheels, and grips. Some plastics are clear like glass; others are completely opaque. Some are so strong that they replicate the tensile strength of steel while being flexible and light. This diversity and versatility means that engineers can use plastics to make almost anything.

SEE ALSO Concrete (1400 BCE), Cotton Mill (1790), Wamsutta Oil Refinery (1861), Carbon Fiber (1879), Kevlar (1971), 3D Printer (1984).

Plastic toy blocks of this sort are often made out of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic.