-
1 Carothers, Wallace Hume
[br]b. 27 April 1896 Burlington, Iowa, USAd. 29 April 1937 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA[br]American chemist, inventor of nylon.[br]After graduating in chemistry, Carothers embarked on academic research at several universities, finally at Harvard University. His earliest published papers, from 1923, heralded the brilliance and originality of his later work. In 1928, Du Pont de Nemours persuaded him to forsake the academic world to lead their new organic-chemistry group in a programme of fundamental research at their central laboratories at Wilmington, Delaware. The next nine years were extraordinarily productive, yielding important contributions to theoretical organic chemistry and the foundation of two branches of chemical industry, namely the production of synthetic rubber and of wholly synthetic fibres.Carothers began work on high molecular weight substances yielding fibres and introduced polymerization by condensation: polymerization by addition was already known. He developed a clear understanding of the relation between the repeating structural units in a large molecule and its physical chemical properties. In 1931, Carothers found that chloroprene could be polymerized much faster than isoprene, the monomer in natural rubber. This process yielded polychloroprene or neoprene, a synthetic rubber with improved properties. Manufacture began the following year, and the material has continued to be used for speciality rubbers.There followed many publications announcing new condensations polymers. On 2 January 1935, he obtained a patent for the formation of new polyamides, including one from adipic acid and hexamethylenediamene. After four years of development work, which cost Du Pont some $27 million, this new polyamide, or nylon, reached the stage of commercial production, beginning on 23 October 1938. Nylon stockings appeared the following year and 64 million were sold during the first twelve months. However, Carothers saw none of this spectacular success: he had died by his own hand in 1937, after a long history of gradually intensifying depression.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsElected to the National Academy of Science 1936 (he was the first industrial organic chemist to be so honoured).BibliographyH.M.Whitby and G.S.Whitby, 1940, Collected Papers of Wallace H.Carothers on Polymerisation, New York.Further ReadingR.Adams, 1939, memoir, Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences 20:293–309 (includes a complete list of Carothers's sixty-two scientific papers and most of his sixty-nine US patents).LRDBiographical history of technology > Carothers, Wallace Hume
-
2 Nylon
Nylon was first made in the laboratories of E.I. du Pont de Nemours, of Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A., under the direction of the late Dr. W. H. Carothers as a result of researches started 1928. In October, 1938, it -was announced to the world that a new form of textile fibre had been made by man, and that " nylon " was to be its name. Nylon stockings were on sale to the general public in U.S.A. on May 15, 1940, and many other items of wearing apparel were shown at the New York Pair that summer. In Great Britain, plans made jointly before the war by Courtaulds and Imperial Chemical Industries were responsible for production being started in 1941 by British Nylon Spinners Limited. The " 66 " polymer (each molecule of these reagents contains 6 carbon atoms and hence the name or designation " 66 ") was first made in 1935. Nylon is a name, not for a single material, but for a whole class or family of entirely new materials. There are many nylons and there may be many more. Nylon is the generic or family name for them all, just as glass and coal are names of classes of substances. Nylon, in the general sense, is a man-made material having a chemical composition akin to proteins, of which silk, hair and wool are examples, although nylon has not an exact counterpart in nature. It is not an " artificial " product, nor a man-made copy of a natural material. It can be made up into powders, sheets, solutions, strands or yarns, each with special properties according to requirements. The " 66 " polymer, from which yam is made, was synthesised in 1933, although not announced to the world until October, 1938. The raw material from which the diamine and acid for making " 66 " polymer are obtained are phenol from coal, oxygen and nitrogen from the air, and hydrogen from water. Particularly suitable where high elasticity is required. Uses include parachute fabrics, tyre cords, glider tow ropes, shoe laces webbing, braid, tape and thread, fully-fashioned hosiery, seamless hosiery, underwear fabrics, lace, nets, dress fabrics, marquisettes, neckties, transparent velvet, coated fabrics for raincoats and food covers. Industrial uses include shoe fabrics, sash cords, window screens, filters and bolting fabrics, also slip covers, motor car upholstery, shirtings, tents and shower curtains. -
3 Chemical technology
-
4 Gibson, R.O.
[br]fl. 1920s–30s[br]English chemist who, with E.O.Fawcett, discovered polythene.[br]Dr Gibson's work towards the discovery of polythene had its origin in a visit in 1925 to Dr A. Michels of Amsterdam University; the latter had made major advances in techniques for studying chemical reactions at very high pressures. After working with Michels for a time, in 1926 Gibson joined Brunner Mond, one of the companies that went on to form the chemical giant Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). The company supported research into fundamental chemical research that had no immediate commercial application, including the field being cultivated by Michels and Gibson. In 1933 Gibson was joined by another ICI chemist, E.O.Fawcett, who had worked with W.H. Carothers in the USA on polymer chemistry. They were asked to study the effects of high pressure on various reaction systems, including a mixture of benzaldehyde and ethylene. Gibson's notebook for 27 March that year records that after a loss of pressure during which the benzaldehyde was blown out of the reaction tube, a waxy solid was observed in the tube. This is generally recognized as the first recorded observation of polythene. By the following June they had shown that the white, waxy solid was a fairly high molecular weight polymer of ethylene formed at a temperature of 443°K and a pressure of 2,000 bar. However, only small amounts of the material were produced and its significance was not immediately recognized. It was not until two years later that W.P.Perrin and others, also ICI chemists, restarted work on the polymer. They showed that it could be moulded, drawn into threads and cast into tough films. It was a good electrical insulator and almost inert chemically. A British patent for producing polythene was taken out in 1936, and after further development work a production plant began operating in September 1939, just as the Second World War was breaking out. Polythene had arrived in time to make a major contribution to the war effort, for it had the insulating properties required for newly developing work on radar. When peacetime uses became possible, polythene production surged ahead and became the major industry it is today, with a myriad uses in industry and in everyday life.[br]Bibliography1964, The Discovery of Polythene, Royal Institute of Chemistry Lecture Series 1, London.LRD -
5 Synthetic materials
See also: INDEX BY SUBJECT AREA[br] -
6 Textiles
See also: INDEX BY SUBJECT AREA[br]Dore, Samuel GriswoldHeilmann, JosuéLevers, JohnLister, Samuel CunliffeMa JunSong Yingxing -
7 Whinfield, John Rex
[br]b. 16 February 1901 Sutton, Surrey, Englandd. 6 July 1955 Dorking, Surrey, England[br]English inventor ofTerylene.[br]Whinfield was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and Caius College, Cambridge, where he studied chemistry. Before embarking on his career as a research chemist, he worked as an un-paid assistant to the chemist C.F. Cross, who had taken part in the discovery of rayon. Whinfield then joined the Calico Printers' Association. There his interest was aroused by the discovery of nylon by W.H. Carothers to seek other polymers which could be produced in fibre form, usable by the textile industries. With his colleague J.T. Dickson, he discovered in 1941 that a polymerized condensate of terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol, polyethylene terephthgal-late, could be drawn into strong fibres. Whinfield and Dickson filed a patent application in the same year, but due to war conditions it was not published until 1946. The Ministry of Supply considered that the new material might have military applications and undertook further research and development. Its industrial and textile possibilities were evaluated by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in 1943 and "Terylene", as it came to be called, was soon recognized as being as important as nylon.In 1946, Dupont acquired rights to work the Calico Printers' Association patent in the USA and began large-scale manufacture in 1954, marketing the product under the name "Dacron". Meanwhile ICI purchased world rights except for the USA and reached the large-scale manufacture stage in 1955. A new branch of the textile industry has grown up from Whinfield's discovery: he lived to see most people in the western world wearing something made of Terylene. It was one of the major inventions of the twentieth century, yet Whinfield, perhaps because he published little, received scant recognition, apart from the CBE in 1954.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsCBE 1954.Further ReadingObituary, 1966, The Times (7 July).Obituary, 1967, Chemistry in Britain 3:26.J.Jewkes, D.Sawers and R.Stillerman, 1969, The Sources of Invention, 2nd edn, London: Macmillan.LRD
См. также в других словарях:
Carothers — ist der Name von Wallace Hume Carothers (1896–1937), US Chemiker Dorothea Carothers Allen, (Dede Allen 1925–2010), US amerikanische Cutterin Siehe auch Carrothers Caruthers … Deutsch Wikipedia
Carothers — [kə rʌȓəz], Wallace Hume, amerikanischer Chemiker, * Burlington (Iowa) 27. 4. 1896, ✝ (Selbstmord) Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) 29. 4. 1937; war seit 1928 Leiter des Forschungslaboratoriums des Chemiekonzerns E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company… … Universal-Lexikon
Carothers — [kə ruth′ərz] Wallace Hume 1896 1937; U.S. chemist … English World dictionary
Carothers — noun United States chemist who developed nylon (1896 1937) • Syn: ↑Wallace Carothers, ↑Wallace Hume Carothers • Instance Hypernyms: ↑chemist … Useful english dictionary
Carothers-Gleichung — Die Carothers Gleichung beschreibt den Zusammenhang von Polymerisationsgrad und dem Umsatzgrad p bei einer Stufenwachstumsreaktion. Sie ist nach Wallace Hume Carothers benannt.[1] Es gibt mehrere Varianten, für A B Systeme, A A/B B Systeme und… … Deutsch Wikipedia
Carothers equation — In step growth polymerization, the Carothers equation (or Carothers equation) gives the number average degree of polymerization, X n, for a given fractional monomer conversion, p .:ar{X} n=frac{1}{1 p}This equation was proposed by Wallace… … Wikipedia
Carothers, Wallace Hume — ▪ American chemist born April 27, 1896, Burlington, Iowa, U.S. died April 29, 1937, Philadelphia, Pa. American chemist who developed nylon, the first synthetic polymer fibre to be produced commercially (in 1938) and one that laid the foundation… … Universalium
Carothers , Wallace Hume — (1896–1937) American industrial chemist Carothers, the son of a teacher, was born in Burlington, Iowa, and gained a BS degree from Tarkio College, Missouri (1920), after working his way through college. He gained his PhD in 1924 from the… … Scientists
Carothers-Seide — Ca|ro|thers Sei|de [kə rʌğəz ; nach dem amer. Chemiker W. H. Carothers (1896–1937)]: svw. ↑ Nylon … Universal-Lexikon
Carothers — /keuh rudh euhrz/, n. Wallace Hume, 1896 1937, U.S. chemist: associated with the invention of synthetic nylon material. * * * … Universalium
Carothers,Wallace Hume — Ca·roth·ers (kə rŭthʹərz), Wallace Hume. 1896 1937. American chemist who developed the synthetic material nylon, which was patented in 1937. * * * … Universalium