The Development of Plastic

bonded together from many smaller, simpler components, rubber is a polymer. The chemical industry produces a wide variety of plastics using the same bonding principle—polymerization. B. In the USA, a competition spurred the creation of the first plastic. In the 1860s, a reward of $10,000 was offered to anyone who could come up with a suitable substitute for ivory in billiard ball production. Ivory supplies were dwindling at the time. John Wesley Hyatt's celluloid substance was the winning entry. Celluloid was created by dissolving cellulose, a plant-based carbohydrate, in a camphor-and-ethanol solution. Knife grips, snap-off cuffs, eyeglasses, and even photographic film were some of the first goods to use this novel material. No motion picture company would have been able to launch towards the tail end of the 19th century if not for celluloid. C. Celluloid is a thermoplastic because it can be repeatedly warmed to soften it and change its form. Leo Baekeland, a Belgian chemist working in the United States, created a new type of plastic in 1907 by triggering a reaction between phenol and formaldehyde. Bakelite was the first of the thermosets' plastics, which can be cast and molded while hot but cannot be softened by heat…