Why Plastic Was Invented
About this Article
Lines of Inquiry
- How problems with existing materials encouraged people to invent new ones.
- How early plastics expanded the kinds of properties manufacturers could build into materials.
- The shift from depending on naturally available materials to creating materials for particular purposes.
Guiding Questions
- Why did scarce or expensive natural materials encourage inventors to search for substitutes?
- How did celluloid give manufacturers possibilities that materials such as ivory could not?
- How did the development of synthetic polymers change the way people could think about designing materials?
Why Plastic Was Invented
A Search for Better Materials
New materials are often created to solve problems.
An invention is something new that people create to solve a problem or meet a need. Early plastics developed because inventors wanted new materials for useful jobs.
A polymer is a very long molecule made from repeating smaller parts. Some polymers occur naturally.
Natural rubber, starch, and cellulose are natural polymers. Cellulose is a strong material that helps form plant cell walls.
Scientists can also make polymers through chemical processes. This kind is called a synthetic polymer.
Many familiar plastics are synthetic polymers. Polyethylene is used in many bags and bottles. Nylon is used in clothing and other products.
Replacing Rare or Costly Materials
During the 1800s, manufacturers used natural materials such as ivory, horn, shellac, and natural rubber.
Some were scarce, or difficult to get because the supply was limited. Others were expensive.
In the 1860s, John Wesley Hyatt began looking for a material that could replace expensive elephant ivory.
Ivory was used for objects such as billiard balls, combs, and decorations. Hyatt wanted another material that could do some of the same jobs.
Shaping New Kinds of Objects
Hyatt’s experiments helped lead to celluloid, one of the earliest plastics.
Celluloid was made by changing cellulose through chemical processes. It could then be softened and shaped.
Hyatt’s experiments helped create celluloid, an early plastic. It could be molded, colored, and shaped into products such as combs, toys, handles, false-teeth plates, and eyeglass frames.
Celluloid could also be made to look like materials such as ivory or tortoiseshell.
Manufacturers could shape it into many forms instead of depending only on materials found in nature.
From Problem-Solving to Possibility
Early plastics were not invented mainly for disposable bags or wrappers.
Inventors were trying to solve material problems. They wanted substitutes for expensive or scarce materials. They also wanted materials that could be shaped for different jobs.
New materials could be made strong, light, flexible, or easy to mold.
Early plastics were not all the same, and they were not invented at one time. But they introduced an important idea: people could develop materials for particular needs.
A Search for Better Materials
New materials are often created because people are trying to solve a problem. Something new that people create to solve a problem or meet a need is an invention. Early plastics developed in this way. Inventors wanted materials that could replace expensive natural substances or do jobs that older materials could not do as easily.
A polymer is made of very long molecules built from repeating smaller parts, almost like a chain made of connected links. Some polymers occur naturally. Natural rubber, starch, and cellulose, the strong material that helps form plant cell walls, are natural polymers.
Manufacturers can create polymers by linking many small molecules into long chains. When these polymers are made through chemical processes rather than occurring naturally, they are called synthetic polymers. Early plastics included celluloid and Bakelite. Today, synthetic polymers include plastics such as polyethylene, used in many bags and bottles, and nylon, used in clothing and other products.
Replacing Rare or Costly Materials
During the 1800s, manufacturers used natural materials such as ivory, horn, shellac, and natural rubber. Some were scarce, meaning they were available only in limited amounts and could be difficult or costly to obtain. Others were expensive or could not easily meet growing demand.
In the 1860s, John Wesley Hyatt began searching for a material that could replace expensive elephant ivory. Ivory was used for products such as billiard balls, combs, and decorative objects. Hyatt’s search was part of a larger effort to find useful substitutes for natural materials that were costly or limited.
Shaping New Kinds of Objects
Hyatt’s experiments helped lead to celluloid, one of the earliest plastics. It was made by chemically changing cellulose to create a material that could be softened, molded, colored, and shaped.
Celluloid could be made into many products such as combs, toys, handles, false-teeth plates, and eyeglass frames. It could also be made to look like materials such as ivory or tortoiseshell.
This ability was useful because manufacturers did not have to carve every object from a natural material. They could shape celluloid into many forms and use it for different jobs.
From Problem-Solving to Possibility
Early plastics were not created mainly to make disposable bags, wrappers, or other throwaway products. Inventors were trying to solve practical material problems. They wanted substitutes for scarce or costly substances and materials that could be shaped into useful objects.
These experiments changed what manufacturers could do. Instead of depending only on wood, glass, metal, rubber, ivory, and other natural materials, they could increasingly create or change materials to give them useful qualities such as strength, lightness, flexibility, or the ability to be molded.
Early plastics were not exactly like the plastics used today, and they were not all invented at the same time. However, they introduced an important idea: people could develop materials for particular needs instead of depending only on materials already found in nature.
A Search for Better Materials
New materials are often created because people are trying to solve a problem. An invention is something newly created to solve a problem, meet a need, or make a task possible or easier. Early plastics developed in this way. Inventors wanted materials that could replace expensive natural substances or do jobs that existing materials could not do as easily.
A polymer is made of very long molecules built from repeating smaller parts, almost like a chain made of many connected links. Some polymers occur naturally. Natural rubber, starch, and cellulose, the strong material that helps form plant cell walls, are natural polymers.
A synthetic polymer is a polymer made through human-controlled chemical processes rather than occurring naturally. Early plastics included materials such as celluloid and Bakelite. Today, synthetic polymers include familiar plastics such as polyethylene, used in many bags and bottles, and nylon, used in clothing and other products.
Replacing Rare or Costly Materials
During the 1800s, manufacturers depended on natural materials such as ivory, horn, shellac, and natural rubber. Some were scarce, or available only in limited amounts and therefore difficult to obtain. Others were expensive or could not easily meet growing demand.
In the 1860s, John Wesley Hyatt began searching for a material that could replace expensive elephant ivory. Ivory was used for products such as billiard balls, combs, and decorative objects. Hyatt’s search was part of a larger effort to find useful substitutes for natural materials that were costly or limited.
Shaping New Kinds of Objects
Hyatt’s experiments helped lead to celluloid, one of the earliest plastics. It was made by chemically changing cellulose, the natural polymer found in plants, to create a material that could be softened, molded, colored, and shaped.
Hyatt’s experiments helped lead to celluloid, an early plastic that could be molded, colored, and shaped into many products such as combs, toys, handles, false-teeth plates, and eyeglass frames. It could also be made to look like materials such as ivory or tortoiseshell.
That ability mattered. Instead of carving every object from a natural material, manufacturers could shape celluloid into many forms. A new material could be made for several different jobs rather than being limited by the shape and supply of something found in nature.
From Problem-Solving to Possibility
Early plastics were not created mainly to make disposable bags, wrappers, or other throwaway products. Inventors were trying to solve practical material problems. They wanted substitutes for scarce or costly substances and materials that could be shaped into useful objects.
Those experiments changed what was possible. Manufacturers were no longer limited to choosing among wood, glass, metal, rubber, ivory, and other existing materials. They could increasingly create or modify materials to give them useful properties such as strength, lightness, flexibility, or the ability to be molded.
Early plastics were not exactly like the plastics used today, and they were not all invented at once. But they introduced an important new idea: people could develop materials for particular needs instead of depending only on materials already available in nature.
A Search for Better Materials
New materials are often developed because existing ones cannot meet every need. An invention is a new device, material, or method developed to perform a useful purpose. Early plastics emerged from this kind of problem-solving as inventors searched for materials that could replace costly natural substances or perform jobs that existing materials could not handle as easily.
A polymer is made of very long molecules built from repeating smaller parts, almost like a chain of connected links. Some polymers occur naturally. Natural rubber, starch, and cellulose, the strong material that helps form plant cell walls, are all natural polymers.
A synthetic polymer is a human-made polymer produced by chemically linking smaller molecules into long molecular chains. Early plastics included materials such as celluloid and Bakelite, while modern synthetic polymers include polyethylene, used in many bags and bottles, and nylon, used in clothing and other products.
Replacing Rare or Costly Materials
During the 1800s, manufacturers relied on natural materials such as ivory, horn, shellac, and natural rubber. Some were scarce, meaning their supply was limited compared with demand and they could therefore be difficult or costly to obtain.
Faced with the high cost of elephant ivory, John Wesley Hyatt began searching in the 1860s for a material that could take its place. Ivory was used for billiard balls, combs, and decorative objects, so finding an alternative could reduce dependence on a material that was expensive and limited.
Shaping New Kinds of Objects
Hyatt’s experiments helped lead to celluloid, one of the earliest plastics. It was made by chemically changing cellulose, the natural polymer found in plants, so the resulting material could be softened, molded, colored, and shaped.
That search contributed to the development of celluloid, an early plastic whose ability to be molded, colored, and shaped allowed it to be used for products as varied as combs, toys, handles, false-teeth plates, and eyeglass frames. Celluloid could also be made to resemble materials such as ivory or tortoiseshell.
Its moldability changed how manufacturers could make objects. Instead of carving every product from a naturally occurring material, they could shape one manufactured material into many different forms.
From Problem-Solving to Possibility
Early plastics were not mainly developed for disposable bags, wrappers, or other short-use products. Inventors were trying to solve practical material problems by finding substitutes for substances that were scarce, expensive, or difficult to use in large quantities.
These experiments expanded the range of materials manufacturers could work with. Rather than depending only on wood, glass, metal, rubber, ivory, and other existing materials, they could increasingly create or modify materials to achieve useful qualities such as strength, flexibility, lightness, or moldability.
Early plastics were not identical to the plastics used today, and they did not appear all at once. What changed was the possibility of developing materials for particular purposes instead of relying only on those already available in nature.
