catsmate
No longer the 1
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2007
- Messages
- 34,767
While most people have probably never heard of her, she was a pioneer in the field of polymer chemistry and, while working for DuPont she developed the para-aramid fibre Kevlar.
The material was produced accidentally and it was only her intervention that prevented the first batch being discarded; she persuaded a technician to spin test the fibres, which were foun to be far stringer than Nylons and indeed about five times stronger than similar steel fibres.
The rest is history. The stuff is used in tyres, ropes (and other cordage from bowstrings to racquets), body amour and protective gear, phone cases, aerospace structures, loudspeaker cones, brake pads, cookware...
BBC.
The material was produced accidentally and it was only her intervention that prevented the first batch being discarded; she persuaded a technician to spin test the fibres, which were foun to be far stringer than Nylons and indeed about five times stronger than similar steel fibres.
The rest is history. The stuff is used in tyres, ropes (and other cordage from bowstrings to racquets), body amour and protective gear, phone cases, aerospace structures, loudspeaker cones, brake pads, cookware...
BBC.
