380 AJsnsruAL report Smithsonian institution, 1961 



introduction of other elements into carbon compounds opens up new 

 fields of endeavor, since the products so formed often have quite dif- 

 ferent properties (such as thermal stability, behavior under extremes 

 of temperature and pressure) from those met with in ordinary organic 

 chemicals. It is likely, too, that synthetic polymers and polycon- 

 densates will find increasing use as structural materials in their own 

 right. This will not only stimulate increased research in the field but 

 it will lead to enormously greater production and to a number of 

 plastics still regarded as "chemicals" becoming everyday structural 

 materials and being used like wood and steel; such a change may 

 considerably influence the structure of the industry producing them. 



It is, of course, impossible to review adequately the present situation 

 of organic chemistry either in the academic or industrial field within 

 the compass of a short article. Developments in recent years have been 

 so rapid and so multifarious that it is difficult to single out the really 

 important advances or to see the whole in perspective. For this reason 

 it is rash to prophesy ; all that one can do is to make a personal esti- 

 mate of current trends and where they may lead. But one thing is 

 certain — organic chemistry is still in a period of vigorous growth and 

 in the future the industry based on it will be an increasingly important 

 factor in the national economy. 



