ESST 2002 Introduction

Maastricht, NL

The History of Nylon

Presentation on the development of man made fibres

especially nylon 6-6

Presentation by Güneş TAVMEN & Stefan SCHINZEL

Presentation by G. Tavmen & S. Schinzel Page 1 of 14

 ESST 2002 Table of Contents
Maastricht, NL

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Reflections of the Nylon 6-6 History

3. Outcome

4. Conclusion

5. Questions & Discussion

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 ESST 2002 1 Research Questions
Maastricht, NL

Research questions:
 Do documents on history shape the perceptions of certain subjects?

 Can history be seen from an objective perspective ?

 Is there a general objective perspective at all ?

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 ESST 2002 1.1 Why Nylon 6-6 ?
Maastricht, NL

Why Nylon 6-6 (Polyamide 6-6) ?

 A black box embodied in our lives

 Wide influence on society

 Change of relation between lab and commercial industry

 More recent innovation

 very well documented

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 ESST 2002 1.2 Utilization of Nylon 6-6
Maastricht, NL

The utilization of Nylon 6-6:

 Textile industry (“wash and wear”)

 Musical instruments

 Toothbrush

 Carpets

 Outdoor clothing (inc. tents, backpacks etc)

 Tires, etc…

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 ESST 2002 1.3 Properties of Nylon 6-6
Maastricht, NL

Chemical & mechanical properties of Nylon 6-6:

 High tensile strength (stretchable without deformation)

 Excellent chemical resistance

 High mechanical strength and heat resistance

 Easy to process

 Can be dyed easily

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 ESST 2002 2 Methodology
Maastricht, NL

Methodology:
 Brief introduction to the three different views on history:
 The inventor (W. Carothers)

 The company where he conducted the research in his lab

(Du Pont)
 The global perspective

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 ESST 2002 2.1 History 1
Maastricht, NL

Wallace H. Carothers (1896-1938)

 Genius chemist, several degrees

 Conducted research at industrial company (Du Pont)
 Conducted research to find a molecule as large as possible
 In the beginning he was free to chose his topic, later on he was oriented
by Du Pont
 His colleague realized that nylon could be drawn into fibre (1934)
 Suffered from depression and committed suicide

Science and Corporate Strategy – Du Pont R&D (1992)

Polymers – The Origins & Growth of a Science (1995)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology http://www.mit.edu (2002)

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 ESST 2002 2.2 History 2
Maastricht, NL

Du Pont (established 1802)

 Wanted to have a research lab as their “commitment to scientific
discovery as the key to future success”
 Lured away Carothers from Harvard university
 Carothers was free to “do pure basic research”
 Du Pont wanted to develop a synthetic fibre that could replace
silk
 Nylon invented by Carothers in 1935
 In 1938, public announcement of nylon as “the first man-made
organic textile fabric prepared entirely from new materials from
the mineral kingdom”

Du Pont Corporate Information http://www.dupont.com (2002)

Du Pont History Archive http://www.heritage.dupont.com (2002)

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 ESST 2002 2.3 History 3
Maastricht, NL

The Global View

 Despite the Great Depression, Carothers’ Lab´s funding was
never reduced
 By 1931 silk was getting expensive and harder to find due to
political and trade troubles with Japan
 Du Pont was urged by the US government to make Nylon a
reality as quick as possible
 Nylon was a potential as a vital war material
 During war Nylon replaced Asian silk and supplanted cotton

Inventing Polymer Science (1998)

Science and Corporate Strategy – Du Pont R&D (1992)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology http://www.mit.edu (2002)
Information pool on the development of Chemistry http://www.chemheritage.org (2002)

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 ESST 2002 3.1 Outcome - Diagram I
Maastricht, NL

Politics

Government
Du Pont
War

The Lab

Economic Issues
Great Depression

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 ESST 2002 3.2 Outcome - Diagram II
Maastricht, NL

Du Pont
The Lab
Funding
Carothers

Chemists
Obligations
Instruments

Technicians
Ready made
science
Production
Technology

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 ESST 2002 4 Conclusion
Maastricht, NL

Conclusion:
 Documents on history do shape the perceptions on subject:
 Depending on the material used, it will lead (more or less) to
a certain perception
 Focused on a certain belief, proof in documents on history
can always be found
 By the usage of as various sources as possible, a perspective
close to objectivity can be achieved …
 BUT an ultimate objectivity can never be achieved as it will
always depend on people’s (author’s, researcher’s,…)
interpretations

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 ESST 2002 4.1 Additional Remarks
Maastricht, NL

Additional Remarks:
 Esp. for Du Pont their advertisement had great impact
 Big impact of nylon on society (e.g..women started to shave their
legs)
 Interesting further development of Nylon & Du Pont

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 ESST 2002 5 Questions & Discussion
Maastricht, NL

Thank you for your attention!

- Any Questions?

- Time for Discussion!!!

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