I.—The Future of Synthetic Plastics

The term synthetic plastic covers such a wide variety of substances that it is an extremely difficult matter to attempt a definition—nor is it necessary for the purpose of this review. To the chemist plastics are solids of high molecular weight exhibiting properties which lie between those of liquids and solids: at sufficiently high temperatures they behave like liquids and at low temperatures like solids. These substances do not obey many of the laws which form the corner-stones of chemical theory, for their chemical constitution can be varied by indefinitely small degrees and it is possible mechanically to divide the molecule into parts. To the layman, on the other hand, plastics have come to mean substances used to fabricate, by mass-production methods, relatively trivial articles like ashtrays, ornamental door-knobs, etc. They tend to be regarded as substitutes which must necessarily be inferior to the materials, once used to make these domestic articles. Much, too, has been written to give the impression that we are on the verge of the plastics era. This is an optimistic exaggeration. Plastics are designed to play an important part as unique materials which can be built by the chemist to the specification of the engineer and the physicist. It is wrong to regard them as substitutes. They are new materials and must be used as such. The purpose of this survey is to indicate how synthetic plastics fit into a future economy in which their special chemical and mechanical properties find their proper application.