Plastic PET invented | Nathaniel C. Wyeth introduces revolutionary Plastic | Techday, October 24th
On this TECHDAY in history, on October 24th 1911, was the birthday of Nathaniel C. Wyeth. He was an American chemist and he invented the PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) plastic bottle for beverages. It was the first time that a plastic suitable to withstand the pressure of carbonated beverages, was deemed safe enough to satisfy the food safety requirements. It is a material lighter than glass and practically unbreakable. Nowadays its use is widespread for carbonated and non carbonated drinks.
The team, led by Dr. Wallace Carothers in the DuPont Corporation, was working on developing new types of synthetic fibers when they stumbled upon the properties of PET. They discovered that when certain chemicals were combined and heated, they formed a strong, lightweight polymer that could be shaped and molded into various forms.
In the decades since its invention, PET has become one of the most widely used plastics in the world. It is suitable for a wide range of products, from clothing and textiles to packaging and consumer goods. Despite its widespread use, PET has been criticized for its environmental impact as it is not biodegradable and can take hundreds of years to decompose.
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Author: PC-GR
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