Chinese scientists recently developed a flexible electronic skin (e-skin) capable of self-powered neural stimulation and inducing a neural response. The technology will be useful in characterizing synaptic plasticity.
Bio & Medicine
Dec 12, 2019
0
23
Chemists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have discovered a method that could turn plastic waste into valuable chemicals by using sunlight.
Analytical Chemistry
Dec 11, 2019
0
94
Rivers in southeast Asia transport more plastic to the ocean than some rivers in Europe, evidence from a new study in Environmental Research Letters suggests.
Environment
Dec 11, 2019
0
17
This box of holiday cheer is actually tubes of plasma containing suspended microparticles exposed to an electrical current to form 3-D crystal structures.
Space Exploration
Dec 11, 2019
0
8
In the first study of its kind, an IMAS-led research team estimates that around 570 000 hermit crabs have been killed on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean and Henderson Island in the Pacific after being trapped ...
Environment
Dec 05, 2019
0
387
Think about the way plastic pollution has been reported in recent years and you're probably picturing plastic packaging, films and microfibres. But Christmas brings a deluge of another relatively short-lived plastic product ...
Social Sciences
Dec 04, 2019
0
1
Tiny microplastic particles are about as common in the ocean today as plastic is in our daily lives.
Environment
Dec 03, 2019
0
133
Dressed in her protective wetsuit and scuba gear, Antigone Kouteri jumps into the murky waters of Zakynthos harbour in search of plastics—and promptly snags her arm on a submerged object.
Environment
Dec 01, 2019
0
38
A recently discovered group of recyclable plastics seems to be a promising alternative to the hard plastic that is difficult to recycle. However, we are not yet seeing these so-called vitrimers used in products because they ...
Materials Science
Nov 29, 2019
1
528
Slovakia banned single-use plastics as of 2021 on Wednesday, joining the European Union fight to reduce marine pollution.
Environment
Nov 27, 2019
1
62
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs. Monomers of plastic are either natural or synthetic organic compounds.
The word plastic is derived from the Greek πλαστικός (plastikos) meaning capable of being shaped or molded, from πλαστός (plastos) meaning molded. It refers to their malleability, or plasticity during manufacture, that allows them to be cast, pressed, or extruded into a variety of shapes—such as films, fibers, plates, tubes, bottles, boxes, and much more.
The common word plastic should not be confused with the technical adjective plastic, which is applied to any material which undergoes a permanent change of shape (plastic deformation) when strained beyond a certain point. Aluminum which is stamped or forged, for instance, exhibits plasticity in this sense, but is not plastic in the common sense; in contrast, in their finished forms, some plastics will break before deforming and therefore are not plastic in the technical sense.
There are two types of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers. Thermoplastics are the plastics that do not undergo chemical change in their composition when heated and can be moulded again and again; examples are polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Thermosets can melt and take shape once; after they have solidified, they stay solid.
The raw materials needed to make most plastics come from petroleum and natural gas.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
