【正文】 While the Goodyear name is famous, Charles Goodyear never realized fortune from his invention. Charles Goodyear The mirror frames shown above are among the earliest molded ―plastic‖ parts ever made. They were pression molded from a shellac based plastic molding pound known as Florence Compound which was developed in Florence, MA. Its inventor, Alfred Critchlow, founded the Pro Molding Corporation in 1847. Pro is thought to be the very first plastics molding pany to be established in the United States. Molded plastic mirror frames and a hand made pression mold. (circa 1866) A new semisynthetic plastic was unveiled by Alexander Parkes at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London, England. This new material, which the public dubbed Parkesine, was an anic material consisting of cellulose nitrate and a solvent. Parkesine could be heated, formed, and it retained its shape when cooled. The material could be molded or carved into products such as buttons, bs, picture frames and knife handles. However, Parkesine was never mercialized due its relatively high cost pared to vulcanized rubber. Alexander Parkes John Wesley Hyatt, a printer and inventor from Albany NY, blended nitrocellulose with camphor (sap from the laurel tree) to produce a durable, colorful, and moldable thermoplastic known as celluloid (also known as Pyroxylin) in 1868. Celluloid was the first mercially successful semisynthetic plastic. It was used for products such as billiard balls, shirt collars, eyeglass frames and pen housings. John Wesley Hyatt The first synthetic plastic was discovered in 1907 when a Belgian born chemist, Dr. Leo H. Baekeland, reacted phenol and formaldehyde under pressure using hexamethyleetramine as a catalyst for the reaction. The result was a thermosetting ―phenolic‖ plastic he named Bakelite. Compared to other plastics available at the time, such as celluloid, Baekeland’s thermosetting phenolic was more stable. Once molded, this new material would not burn or soften when reheated, or dissolve. This benefit made it stand out from the other plastics on the market. Bakelite was an instant mercial success. It was electrically resistant, chemically stable, heat resistant, rigid, moisture and weather resistant. It was very widely used for its electrical insulating capability. Baekeland sold the rights to his invention to the Eastman Kodak Company that first used it for camera bodies. It is also interesting to note that . Hyatt, inventor of celluloid and founder of the HyattBurroughs Billiard Ball Company, personally ordered his pany to stop using celluloid and substitute Bakelite for their billiard balls due to its superior performance. Dr. Leo H. Baekeland Most early ―thermoset‖ plastic parts were produced by pression or transfer molding. These molded phenolic Ekco radio housings are being deflashed after being pression molded. (circa 1934) Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is one of the most widely used thermoplastics in use today, particularly in the building and home construction industries where it is used for siding, window profiles amp。 pipe. The mercialization of PVC in 1927 is the direct result of research work that was conducted by Waldo Semon, a chemist working at the . Goodrich Rubber Company. While PVC was already known at the time, it had no mercial value since it could not be processed without degrading. Semon discovered that PVC could be melt processed without degrading if a high boiling point liquid ―plasticizer‖ was added to it. PVC formulations can be either rigid or flexible depending their plasticizer concentration. The very first applications for PVC included foul weather gear and electrical wire insulation. 1939: Wood TV Cabi 1948: Phenolic TV Cabi 1970: HIPS TV Cabi 20xx: HIPS TV Cabi Although polystyrene (PS) was unknowingly discovered by a German apothecary in 1839, it was not until 1930 that a scientist from the BASF Corporation developed a mercial process for the manufacture of PS. General purpose PS is a very transparent but fairly brittle thermoplastic. Shortly after its mercial introduction, other rubber modified or rubber toughened grades, known as high impact polystyrene (HIPS) were introduced. PS and HIPS are still widely today for items that range from razor cartridges to television cabis. Television cabis were initially wooden, then thermoset phenolic, followed by flame retardant HIPS that is still used today. Rohm and Haas was the first pany to market polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), better known as acrylic―. It was introduced mercially in 1937. Their tradename for this new thermoplastic was Plexiglas174。. Biaxially oriented PET film, known as Mylar174。 did not occur until 1946. Teflon174。 sheet is used as an insulator and lubricant between the copper skin and the stainless steel skeleton of the Statue of Liberty. It is also widely used for specialty textiles. The roof of the Pontac Silverdome is made of a Teflon174。. This new thermoplastic offered a good balance of mechanical properties, low specific gravity, electrical insulation, and chemical resistance. However, the material had few markets in those early years. Then came the Hula Hoop ! Richard Knerr and Artur Melin, founders of the WhamO Company, were the architects of the biggest ―fad‖ of all time – the ―Hula Hoop‖. The Hula Hoop evolved from bamboo hoops previously used in Australia. At the peak of this craze in 1958, WhamO was using 1,000,000 pounds of HDPE each week for Hula Hoop production. They were the largest user of HDPE at the time. The Monsanto House of the Future was constructed at Disneyland in 1957. The frame and structure of the house were 100% plastic. The house featured a number of innovations including a visual phone, an ultrasonic dishwasher, and a microwave oven. The ho