PLASTICS ^ 



By Gordon M. Kline 

 Chief, Organic Plastics Section, National Bureau of Standards 



[With 5 platesl 



The parade of new applications in plastics went on in 1940 as 

 the industry continued its phenomenal growth, as evidenced by the 

 increased volume of production and greater annual dollar value of 

 the finished products. This progress can be aptly surveyed by a 

 glance at the winners of the 1940 Annual Modern Plastics Competi- 

 tion which drew approximately 1,000 entries, representing the com- 

 bined contributions of chemists, engineers, designers, molders, and 

 fabricators in extending the frontiers of the plastics industry. 



In the architectural classification awards were given for decorative 

 and functional uses of plastics in the beauty salon and theater and 

 for a crystal-clear doorknob resembling the expensive glass knobs 

 formerly imported from Czechoslovakia and Belgium. In business 

 and office equipment, new achievements in telephone equipment, hous- 

 ings for portable sales registers, and drafting devices were recog- 

 nized. Midget and portable radios in the communications group 

 and ingenious seasonal displays in decorators' accessories were out- 

 standing. The judges selected the woven plastic porch and terrace 

 furniture, transparent acrylic resin tables, and colorful "period" 

 pieces veneered with cast phenolic sheets for top awards in furniture 

 applications. Such prosaic but essential items as bathroom scales, 

 brooms, and shower heads revealed further extension of plastics 

 into the household domain. Plastic diffuse reflectors for fluorescent 

 lamps won most of the honors in the lighting group. Electrical 

 and refrigerator equipment, soldering paddles, and nylon-bristle 

 brushes for industrial purposes represented advances of plastics in 

 machinery and appliances, and transparent oil containers, electric 

 razor housings, and greeting cards were selected from a host of 

 novelty and miscellaneous items. Laboratory dialyzers, portable mo- 

 tion-picture projectors, and arch supports won recognition in the 



' Reprinted by permission from The Progress of Science, a Review of 1940. Published 

 by the Grolier Society. 



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