THE NEW SYNTHETIC TEXTILE FIBERS ' 



By TTkrbebt R. Mauebsbeegeb 

 Technical Editor, Rayon Textile Monthly 



We are living in a fast and progressive age as far as textiles are 

 concerned, recently referred to as a "fiber revolution." The old nat- 

 ural fibers do not any longer limit the ability of the textile industry 

 to create and supply new fabrics of unusual character, beauty, and 

 usefulness. These new developments mark an advance in fiber tech- 

 nology, which must be examined and evaluated with the greatest care 

 by all who wish to keep up-to-date. They create both opportunities 

 and hazards for the progressive textile manufacturer— opportunities 

 for those awake to the possibilities they offer of meeting our human 

 needs more fully; hazards for the ultraconservatives, who let prog- 

 ress pass by. To the technical man, they are fascinating and worthy 

 of careful examination and study. 



In my investigation of these new synthetic fibers I have not in- 

 cluded the cellulosic filaments and fibers, such as rayon or modified 

 rayons. I believe that the word synthetic has never been applicable 

 to rayon in its various textile forms. True synthesis would involve 

 the union of chemical elements to form the basic substances from 

 which a textile fiber is obtained. This stage has not as yet been 

 accomplished, but the new man-made fibers I shall discuss come very 

 close to this ideal. 



My information has been obtained from sources I believe authentic, 

 such as patents, chemical abstracts, newspapers, both local and foreign 

 technical publications as well as private correspondence with the 

 companies directly involved. 



In discussing them with you, I will take them up in the order of 

 their present relative importance. I will also include a few in which 

 research work has been practically completed but which have not 

 been marketed as yet in this country for economic or other reasons, 

 which I shall state. In each case I will state the origin, comparative 



* Paper presented before American Society for Testing Materials, Papers Session, October 

 17, 1940. Reprinted by permission from Rayon Textile Monthly, November and De- 

 cember 1940. 



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