Polymer

Polymer

1. Examples

   • Natural Polymers
     • Protein
     • Silk
     • Wool
   • Synthetic Examples
     • Synthetic Rubber
     • Nylon
     • Plastic

2. Basic Info

   • The simplest definition of a polymer is a useful chemical made of many repeating units.
   • Each repeating unit is the “-mer” or basic unit with “poly-mer” meaning many repeating units. Repeating units are often made of carbon and hydrogen and sometimes oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, chlorine, fluorine, phosphorous, and silicon.

3. Characteristics

   • Some polymer can be very resistant to chemicals.
     • Every cleaning fluid is packaged in plastic bottles. Some of these fluid can be very dangerous since they possibly have acid. Therefore some polymer can be very useful containing chemicals.
   • Generally, polymers can be very light in weight with significant degrees of strength.
     • The range of the use of polymer various from making toys to the frame structure of a space station. Therefore it's weight and strength can vary.
   • Polymers are usually made of petroleum, but not always.
     • Many polymers are made of repeat units derived from natural gas or coal or crude oil.

4. Historical Discoveries

   • Nylon was invented in 1935.
   • First synthetic plastic, bakelite, was invented in in 1909 for telephone casing and electrical components.
   • The first manufactured polymeric fiber was Rayon, from cellulose, in 1910.

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