Plastic
hidePlastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic amorphous solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular weight, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce costs.
The word derives from the Greek πλαστικός (plastikos) meaning fit for molding, and πλαστός (plastos) meaning molded. It refers to their malleability, or plasticity during manufacture, that allows them to be cast, pressed, or extruded into an enormous variety of shapes—such as films, fibers, plates, tubes, bottles, boxes, and much more.
The common word plastic should not be confused with the technical adjective plastic, which is applied to any material which undergoes a permanent change of shape (plastic deformation) when strained beyond a certain point. Aluminum, for instance, is plastic in this sense, but not a plastic in the common sense; while some plastics, in their finished forms, will break before deforming and therefore are not plastic in the technical sense.
There are two types of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosets. Thermoplastics, if exposed to enough heat, will melt. Thermosets will keep their shape until they are charred and burnt. Some examples of thermoplastics are grocery bags, piano keys and some automobile parts. Examples of thermosets are children's dinner sets and circuit boards.
For more information about Plastic, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with plastic
Japan mines toxic e-waste for precious materials
Dec 17, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
0
Seeking to turn an environmental problem into an economic opportunity, high-tech companies in resource-poor Japan are mining mountains of toxic e-waste for precious materials.
Plastics component affects intestine: study
Dec 14, 2009 |
5 / 5 (8) |
1
The chemical Bisphenol A used in plastic containers and drinks cans has been shown for the first time to affect the functioning of the intestines, according to a French study published Monday.
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Gadgets: Great gadgets, as a gift or not
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Dec 17, 2009 |
3 / 5 (2) |
0
Officially this is not another gift guide. Instead I'd rather consider it the first of two roundups either of products I just haven't gotten to this year or some I have just couldn't find a home for.
In a first, key pancreatic cells inserted in wounded airman's liver
Dec 17, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
In what medical officials say is a first, the bullet-scarred pancreas from a service member who was shot in Afghanistan was flown from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington to the University of Miami, where insulin-producing ...
Organic flash memory developed
Dec 17, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (18) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a non-volatile memory that has the same basic structure as a flash memory but is made from cheap, flexible, organic materials.
Review: Netbooks meet luxury in ultra-light Sony
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Dec 16, 2009 |
2.5 / 5 (2) |
0
(AP) -- Netbooks have been a hit among laptop buyers because they're cheap and they're easy to carry. Now there's the option to pay a lot more and get a lot less - a lot less weight, that is.
Warming climate chills Sonoran Desert's spring flowers
Dec 16, 2009 |
3.2 / 5 (9) |
3
Global warming is giving a boost to Sonoran Desert plants that have an edge during cold weather, according to new research.
A new kind of micro-mobility: Moving tiny particles using magnetic fields (w/ Video)
Dec 14, 2009 |
3 / 5 (2) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new microscopic system devised by researchers in MIT's Department of Materials Science and Engineering could provide a novel method for moving tiny objects inside a microfluidic chip, and ...
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