Dyes, Artificial Advantages

In all of the varieties of artificial silk which we have mentioned the product is probably in the form of hydrates or oxidized hydrates of cellulose. This cellulose compound is obtained as fine filaments by spraying the solution of the cellulose, in one of the various solvents, into a coagulating solution. The filaments are then spun into thread and converted into other forms desired. Whether as fiber, thread, cloth or other material the product possesses silk-like properties both as to luster, feel and ability to react with dyes. It thus has many advantages over ordinary cotton. All of the varieties of artificial silk are, however, inferior to silk itself in strength, especially when wet,... 

Rhamnetin in form of Persian-berry extraet is of considerable importance in calico-printing j no artificial dyestuff has been found to replace it with advantage. It is generally fixed as tin or tin-alumina lake, both of which have a fine yellow colour. The chromium lake has a browner tone and is also used in printing. The alumina lake also sometimes used in dyeing has lemon shade its principal application (mixed with chalk) is as an artists colour. 

Indeed, what is considered today to be a key advantage of such plastics was originally seen as a serious drawback. While each different natural substance seemed to be suited to only one or at most a few uses, Bakelite could serve many different purposes, and was used to make combs, hair slides, collars, buttons, telephones and radios, to cite only a few of its better-known applications. Furthermore, the possibility of dyeing Bakelite meant that it could be given the appearance of a variety of different materials, such as tortoiseshell, amber, coral, marble, jade or onyx. Like its polyvalence, its chameleon-like ability to take on different colours devalued Bakelite in the eyes of the public, as it was perceived as a clear indication of the radical inferiority of the artificial substitute with respect to original, natural materials. 

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