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.
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News tagged with plastic
Security ID cards with built-in holograms (w/ Video)
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Plastic cards with security features are ubiquitous these days, having a wide variety of uses such as credit cards, employee cards, licenses, and so on. Many have holographic images, but they ...
One word: bioplastics
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Every year, more than 250 billion pounds of plastic are produced worldwide. Much of it ends up in the world's oceans, a fact that troubles MIT biology professor Anthony Sinskey.
Twins joined at head successfully separated (Update 2)
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A team of 16 surgeons and nurses successfully concluded 25 hours of delicate surgery Tuesday to separate twin Bangladeshi girls who had been joined at their heads, sharing blood vessels and brain ...
Workplace BPA exposure increases risk of male sexual dysfunction
Nov 11, 2009 |
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High levels of workplace exposure to Bisphenol-A may increase the risk of reduced sexual function in men, according to a Kaiser Permanente study appearing in the journal Human Reproduction.
Last-resort lower-body amputation effective in extreme cases of bone infection, 25-year review shows
Nov 17, 2009 |
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A landmark, 25-year review of cases in which surgeons had to remove the lower portion of the body from the waist down for severe pelvic bone infections shows the therapy can add years and quality of life to survivors, say ...
Use of rib cartilage grafts in rhinoplasty results in patient satisfaction, few complications
Nov 17, 2009 |
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Rib cartilage from human donors is well tolerated as a grafting material in nasal plastic surgery and yields positive functional, structural and cosmetic results, even in complex cases, according to a report in the November/December ...
First near-total face and upper-jaw transplant appears successful
Nov 16, 2009 |
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More than a year and a half following the first near-total face and upper jaw transplant, the donor tissue appears successfully integrated, according to a report in the November/December issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Su ...
SEA to conduct expedition dedicated to measuring plastic marine debris in the North Atlantic Ocean
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 12, 2009 |
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Sea Education Association (SEA) is preparing to conduct the first-ever research expedition dedicated solely to examining the accumulation of plastic marine debris in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Plasma-in-a-bag for sterilizing devices
Nov 09, 2009 |
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The practice of sterilizing medical tools and devices helped revolutionize health care in the 19th century because it dramatically reduced infections associated with surgery. Through the years, numerous ways of sterilization ...
