History of Plastic and Polymer

Polymer is simply plastic. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and silicon are basis of each chain of polymer and to make every chain, many links are polymerized together. Polymerization can also be confirmed by linking strips of construction paper together to make paper garlands together hundreds of paper clips to form chain.

Polymer is present since the beginning of the time. Natural polymers include tar and shellac, tortoise shell and horns and tree saps which produce amber as well as latex. Later on, these kinds of polymers were converted into articles like hair ornaments and jewelry after processing with heat and pressure. But natural polymers were chemically modified in 1800. In 1909, first semi-synthetic polymers were produced and soon followed by the first synthetic fiber, rayon that later improved in 1911.

It was World War II, when all these major developments were made possible in polymer industry. Before World War II, people would use accessible natural substances. When World War II took place, natural resources of wool silk and other materials were brought to an end. During that period, the uses of nylon, acrylic, SBR and polyethylene other polymers were widely seen in the place of natural materials that were no more available in the market. From that exact time, the polymer industry started developing and very soon it became on of the fastest growing industry not only in the U.S. but also in the world.