A brief history of plastic
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0:07 - 0:10Today, plastics are everywhere.
-
0:10 - 0:15All of this plastic originated
from one small object— -
0:15 - 0:18that isn’t even made of plastic.
-
0:18 - 0:22For centuries, billiard balls were
made of ivory from elephant tusks. -
0:22 - 0:26But when excessive hunting caused
elephant populations to decline -
0:26 - 0:28in the 19th century,
-
0:28 - 0:33billiard balls makers began to look
for alternatives, offering huge rewards. -
0:33 - 0:40So in 1863 an American named
John Wesley Hyatt took up the challenge. -
0:40 - 0:46Over the next five years, he invented
a new material called celluloid, -
0:46 - 0:51made from cellulose, a compound found
in wood and straw. -
0:51 - 0:55Hyatt soon discovered celluloid couldn’t
solve the billiard ball problem–– -
0:55 - 0:59the material wasn’t heavy enough
and didn’t bounce quite right. -
0:59 - 1:02But it could be tinted and patterned
-
1:02 - 1:05to mimic more expensive
materials like coral, -
1:05 - 1:09tortoiseshell, amber, and mother-of-pearl.
-
1:09 - 1:14He had created what became
known as the first plastic. -
1:14 - 1:18The word ‘plastic’ can describe
any material made of polymers, -
1:18 - 1:23which are just the large molecules
consisting of the same repeating subunit. -
1:23 - 1:25This includes all human-made plastics,
-
1:25 - 1:29as well as many of the materials
found in living things. -
1:29 - 1:32But in general, when people refer
to plastics, -
1:32 - 1:35they’re referring to synthetic materials.
-
1:35 - 1:39The unifying feature of these
is that they start out soft and malleable -
1:39 - 1:42and can be molded into a particular shape.
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1:42 - 1:46Despite taking the prize
as the first official plastic, -
1:46 - 1:51celluloid was highly flammable,
which made production risky. -
1:51 - 1:54So inventors began to hunt
for alternatives. -
1:54 - 1:57In 1907 a chemist combined phenol—
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1:57 - 2:00a waste product of coal tar—
-
2:00 - 2:05and formaldehyde, creating
a hardy new polymer called bakelite. -
2:05 - 2:09Bakelite was much less flammable
than celluloid and the raw materials -
2:09 - 2:13used to make it were
more readily available. -
2:13 - 2:15Bakelite was only the beginning.
-
2:15 - 2:20In the 1920s, researchers first
commercially developed polystyrene, -
2:20 - 2:23a spongy plastic used in insulation.
-
2:23 - 2:29Soon after came polyvinyl chloride,
or vinyl, which was flexible yet hardy. -
2:29 - 2:31Acrylics created transparent,
-
2:31 - 2:35shatter-proof panels
that mimicked glass. -
2:35 - 2:39And in the 1930s nylon took centre stage—
-
2:39 - 2:43a polymer designed to mimic silk,
but with many times its strength. -
2:43 - 2:49Starting in 1933, polyethylene became
one of the most versatile plastics, -
2:49 - 2:54still used today to make everything
from grocery bags, to shampoo bottles, -
2:54 - 2:56to bulletproof vests.
-
2:56 - 3:00New manufacturing technologies
accompanied this explosion of materials. -
3:00 - 3:04The invention of a technique
called injection-moulding -
3:04 - 3:09made it possible to insert melted plastics
into molds of any shape, -
3:09 - 3:11where they would rapidly harden.
-
3:11 - 3:15This created possibilities for products
in new varieties and shapes— -
3:15 - 3:21and a way to inexpensively and rapidly
produce plastics at scale. -
3:21 - 3:24Scientists hoped this economical
new material -
3:24 - 3:29would make items that once had been
unaffordable accessible to more people. -
3:29 - 3:33Instead, plastics were pushed into service
in World War Two. -
3:33 - 3:38During the war, plastic production
in the United States quadrupled. -
3:38 - 3:44Soldiers wore new plastic helmet liners
and water-resistant vinyl raincoats. -
3:44 - 3:48Pilots sat in cockpits made of plexiglass,
a shatterproof plastic, -
3:48 - 3:53and relied on parachutes
made of resilient nylon. -
3:53 - 3:55Afterwards, plastic manufacturing
companies -
3:55 - 4:00that had sprung up during wartime turned
their attention to consumer products. -
4:00 - 4:05Plastics began to replace other materials
like wood, glass, and fabric -
4:05 - 4:10in furniture, clothing, shoes,
televisions, and radios. -
4:10 - 4:14Versatile plastics opened up possibilities
for packaging— -
4:14 - 4:18mainly designed to keep food
and other products fresh for longer. -
4:18 - 4:23Suddenly, there were plastic garbage bags,
stretchy plastic wrap, -
4:23 - 4:26squeezable plastic bottles,
takeaway cartons, -
4:26 - 4:30and plastic containers for fruit,
vegetables, and meat. -
4:30 - 4:34Within just a few decades,
this multifaceted material -
4:34 - 4:38ushered in what became known as
the “plastics century.” -
4:38 - 4:42While the plastics century brought
convenience and cost-effectiveness, -
4:42 - 4:46it also created staggering
environmental problems. -
4:46 - 4:49Many plastics are made of nonrenewable
resources. -
4:49 - 4:53And plastic packaging was designed
to be single-use, -
4:53 - 4:56but some plastics take centuries
to decompose, -
4:56 - 5:00creating a huge build up of waste.
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5:00 - 5:05This century we’ll have to concentrate our
innovations on addressing those problems— -
5:05 - 5:09by reducing plastic use,
developing biodegradable plastics, -
5:09 - 5:13and finding new ways
to recycle existing plastic.
- Title:
- A brief history of plastic
- Speaker:
- TED-Ed
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-brief-history-of-plastic
For centuries, billiard balls were made of ivory from elephant tusks. But when excessive hunting caused elephant populations to decline, they began to look for alternatives. John Wesley Hyatt took up the challenge. In five years, he invented a new material called celluloid, which would become known as the first plastic. Trace the history of the material that ushered in the "plastics century."
Directed by Sharon Colman.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 05:15
lauren mcalpine approved English subtitles for A brief history of plastic | ||
lauren mcalpine accepted English subtitles for A brief history of plastic | ||
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for A brief history of plastic | ||
Tara Ahmadinejad edited English subtitles for A brief history of plastic | ||
Tara Ahmadinejad edited English subtitles for A brief history of plastic |