A plastic, in the modern sense of the word, is a synthetic or man-made material which can be formed into various shapes. The first plastic material was Celluloid, made in 1868 by an American, John W. Hyatt, by dissolving nitrocellulose under pressure.
The use of plastic began slowly, but shortages of natural material caused by two world wars forced scientists to develop substitutes. Since the Second World War the making of plastics has become a gigantic industry, which has grown so fast that many people still have only a hazy idea what plastics are. In fact, the term “plastics” is as general as the word “metals”. The high-temperature cone of a rocket and the highly inflammable table-tennis ball are both plastics, just as lead and steel are both metals.
However, all plastics have some things in common: first, they are entirely man-made and not found in nature; secondly, they consist of large molecules of an organic nature; thirdly, at some stage in their manufacture they are liquid and can be shaped; and fourthly, in their final state they are solid.
Most of the raw materials for plastics are produced by the petroleum and coal industries. Scientists are able to produce different properties in plastics so that they can be used in a tremendous variety of articles.
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