Marcus Rowland
- DIY
Stir Up Some Nylon
In 1938 the E.I. DuPont de Nemours Company, known at the time mainly as a maker of explosives, announced what was arguably the single most important invention in the history of legwear: nylon. Nylon wasn´t discovered by accident or extracted from a natural source. It was one of the first materials engineered from scratch, based on an understanding of polymer chemistry and a desire to plug what was, apparently, a serious hole in the hosiery department.
8.4.2008 at 02:05pm - Comment by Marcus RowlandFirst, these chemicals are NASTY in their concentrated forms - you get choking fumes and neither should be used neat. Sebacoyl chloride is generally a 10% or thereabouts solution in Hexane or another organic solvent, Hexamethylene diamine is about the same strength solution in water. Second, the fibre isn't safe to handle since it will contain unreacted chemicals inside the porous hollow tube. It can't really be made safe if you use this method.
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December 2009: Best of What's New
In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.
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