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1
Introduction
The History of Nylon Presentation on the
development of man made fibres especially nylon
6-6 Presentation by Günes TAVMEN Stefan
SCHINZEL
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Table of Contents

• Contents
• Introduction
• Reflections of the Nylon 6-6 History
• Outcome
• Conclusion
• Questions Discussion

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1 Research Questions

• 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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1.1 Why Nylon 6-6 ?

• 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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1.2 Utilization of Nylon 6-6

• 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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1.3 Properties of Nylon 6-6

• 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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2 Methodology

• 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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2.1 History 1

• 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 RD
(1992) Polymers The Origins Growth of a
Science (1995) Massachusetts Institute of
Technology http//www.mit.edu (2002)
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2.2 History 2

• 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.c
om (2002) Du Pont History Archive
http//www.heritage.dupont.com (2002)
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2.3 History 3

• The Global View
• Despite the Great Depression, Carothers Labs
  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 RD
(1992) Massachusetts Institute of Technology
http//www.mit.edu (2002) Information pool on the
development of Chemistry http//www.chemheritage.o
rg (2002)
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3.1 Outcome - Diagram I
Politics
Government
War
Du Pont
The Lab
Economic Issues
Great Depression
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3.2 Outcome - Diagram II
Du Pont
The Lab
Funding
Obligations
Ready made science
Production Technology
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4 Conclusion

• 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 peoples (authors,
  researchers,) interpretations

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4.1 Additional Remarks

• 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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5 Questions Discussion

• Thank you for your attention!
• Any Questions?
• Time for Discussion!!!