Engineering
Plastics used in home furnishings and constructions materials could be replaced with a new kind of wood-based degradable plastic with semi-structural strength. Unlike thermoplastic, the material can be broken down without ...
Oct 25, 2022
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Robotics
A robot fish that filters microplastics has been brought to life after it won the University of Surrey's public competition—The Natural Robotics Contest.
Oct 21, 2022
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395
Engineering
The City College of New York Grove School of Engineering today released a new report which examined advanced recycling. The report concluded that advanced recycling helps avoid climate impacts, reduces demand for energy resources, ...
Oct 12, 2022
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3
Energy & Green Tech
Plastics are harming the planet—that is a fact. But like it or not, they are an integral part of modern life, which is why scientists have been focusing on alternatives to plastics made from non-renewable petroleum. One ...
Sep 16, 2022
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Energy & Green Tech
If you flip over a plastic food container, you'll see tiny writing on it—something like "AS 2070." This means the product meets the Australian standard for plastics safe to use for food.
Sep 7, 2022
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20
Energy & Green Tech
Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, is unveiling the latest innovations in recycling this National Science Week to inspire the next generation of leaders who will lead our circular economy-focused future.
Aug 17, 2022
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23
Energy & Green Tech
It is difficult to recycle artificial turf and there are no obvious deposit-return systems for these plastics on the market. But researchers are now looking to find a solution to the problem.
Aug 17, 2022
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13
Energy & Green Tech
Only a fraction of the material that could be turned into new plastic is currently recycled. Researchers at Chalmers have now demonstrated how the carbon atoms in mixed waste can replace all fossil raw materials in the production ...
Jun 30, 2022
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75
Energy & Green Tech
Today we make more clothing than ever before. And the driver for this is primarily economic, rather than human need. Over the past decade, the term "circular economy" has entered the fashion industry lexicon, wherein materials ...
Jun 22, 2022
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8
Engineering
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an upcycling approach that adds value to discarded plastics for reuse in additive manufacturing, or 3D printing. The readily adoptable, ...
Jun 13, 2022
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43
Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic amorphous solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular weight, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce costs.
The word derives from the Greek πλαστικός (plastikos) meaning fit for molding, and πλαστός (plastos) meaning molded. It refers to their malleability, or plasticity during manufacture, that allows them to be cast, pressed, or extruded into an enormous 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, for instance, is plastic in this sense, but not a plastic in the common sense; while some plastics, in their finished forms, will break before deforming and therefore are not plastic in the technical sense.
There are two types of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosets. Thermoplastics, if exposed to enough heat, will melt. Thermosets will keep their shape until they are charred and burnt. Some examples of thermoplastics are grocery bags, piano keys and some automobile parts. Examples of thermosets are children's dinner sets and circuit boards.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
