Repsol YPF

What is plastic? 

As we already know,   materials are composed of atoms, which are usually grouped to form molecules. When they in turn combine, they form macromolecules which are called “polymers”, a term which comes from the Greek words poly (many) and meros (which means part or segment).   

Polymer s can come from natural sources, such as cellulose, wax and rubber, for example, or synthetic sources derived from oil and other substances, such as plastic, for example. Its name comes from the Greek word plastikos, which means malleable, and its principal characteristic is that after a certain temperature (which varies according to the type of plastic) it acquires elasticity and flexibility which allow it to be moulded with ease.   

These properties , along with its low production costs and excellent lightness, weight, functionality and insulating capacity have made it the highly popular and omnipresent material that it is in our society today, be it in clothing, all kinds of food and cleaning product packaging and in electronic devices.   

Origins and development

When talking about the history of modern plastics, the name John Wesley Wyatt must be mentioned. He was a US inventor who in 1860 participated in a competition run by a billiard ball manufacturer, that offered 10,000 dollars to anyone who could find a material from which to make billiard balls other than the traditional ivory, that was very expensive and difficult to obtain. Although he didn’t win the prize, he patented celluloid, which was increasingly used in the manufacturing of all kinds of goods and, of course, went on to become the material on which films were recorded.   

However, it was in 1909 when Leo Hendrik Baekeland invented what was known as bakelite, honouring his surname. It was the first totally synthetic plastic in history and brought its inventor much fame and fortune, he even appeared on the cover of Time magazine. It was the start of a new period in industry and was to be followed in subsequent decades by the invention of new materials such as nylon, synthetic rubber and PVC.   

A promising future 

Amongst other things, m odern life is characterised by the increasing amount of electronic devices around, and in many cases, their biggest appeal is their portability. However, it would be difficult to put mobile phones in your pocket or carry the increasingly smaller laptops if they were not made largely from different types of plastic.   

Plastic is used to make both the internal components such as the built-in circuit boards, chip carriers and   wires , where it can offer its excellent insulating capacity, and the equipment casing, which makes it very lightweight, highly resistant and durable and gives it an attractive appearance thanks to the design freedom it offers compared to other materials. 

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