Plastic-a wonder material
Answers
Answer:
It was in 1907 that the first modern plastic, bakelite, was invented.
It pointed the way to a whole family of products based on synthetic polymers - that is, compounds of large molecules made up of simple repeated units.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, improvements in manufacturing processes brought the cost of making plastics down dramatically, paving the way for cheap mass production.
It's not too much of a stretch to say that plastic made the modern world possible.
Many things that we take for granted today depend on it. Milk, for instance, no longer has to be delivered in glass bottles, making it safer and less cumbersome to transport.
Plastic has also allowed supermarkets to offer a wider range of fresher produce in a variety of portion sizes.
Grapes sold in sealed trays rather than loose bunches have reduced waste in stores by more than 20%, retail analysts say.
Consumers are advised by the Food Standards Agency to put raw chicken in a plastic bag to avoid the risk of food poisoning.
Modern medicine has also greatly benefited from the disposable plastic syringe, invented in 1955.
Plastic is an amazing substance, an amazing invention.