Plastics historical development

This historical development of the radiation technology of polymers is reviewed in this outline. The important applications of this technology are divided into two classes - large scale processes such as cross-linking of rubbers and plastics and specialized sophisticated processes such as microlithography. The initial fundamental studies that led to these applications are outlined and the slow process of commercialization is emphasized in this review. 

The relevance of the historical development of plastics to conservation professionals is largely as a tool to date or help identify the types of materials or technologies represented in collections. Conservators and historians are also interested in the reasons and background to the development of plastics. A brief history of the development of plastics is presented in this chapter. More detailed information may be obtained from publications and the website of the Plastics Historical Society (Plastics Historical Society, 2006 Mossman, 1997). 

Looking at the historic development of plastics production, we can see that in the beginning it was not driven by using fossil raw materials. Quite the contrary - a lot of thermosets, elastomers... 

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