﻿PROGRESS 
  IN 
  NEW 
  SYNTHETIC 
  TEXTILE 
  FIBERS 
  

  

  By 
  Herbert 
  R. 
  Matjersberger 
  

   Technical 
  Editor, 
  Rayon 
  Textile 
  Monthly 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  again 
  my 
  privilege 
  to 
  report 
  on 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  Progress 
  in 
  New 
  

   Synthetic 
  Textile 
  Fibers. 
  My 
  previous 
  report 
  made 
  on 
  October 
  17, 
  

   1940, 
  has 
  been 
  reproduced 
  in 
  the 
  General 
  Appendix 
  of 
  the 
  1941 
  An- 
  

   nual 
  Report 
  of 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  Institution, 
  showing 
  that 
  our 
  Gov- 
  

   ernment 
  takes 
  cognizance 
  of 
  our 
  activities 
  in 
  identification, 
  nomen- 
  

   clature, 
  and 
  technology 
  of 
  our 
  new 
  textile 
  fibers 
  and 
  materials. 
  It 
  

   also 
  appeared 
  in 
  the 
  American 
  Society 
  for 
  Testing 
  Materials 
  Stand- 
  

   ards 
  on 
  Textile 
  Materials. 
  2 
  

  

  The 
  information 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  paper 
  is 
  an 
  addition 
  to 
  that 
  given 
  in 
  

   the 
  previous 
  one. 
  Much 
  of 
  the 
  previous 
  information 
  is 
  today 
  quite 
  

   inadequate, 
  so 
  fast 
  has 
  this 
  industry 
  grown 
  and 
  these 
  developments 
  

   taken 
  place. 
  My 
  information 
  has 
  been 
  obtained 
  from 
  sources 
  be- 
  

   lieved 
  to 
  be 
  authentic 
  and 
  reliable. 
  Some 
  of 
  these 
  developments 
  are 
  

   already 
  well 
  known 
  and 
  are 
  only 
  included 
  for 
  the 
  record 
  ; 
  others 
  have 
  

   taken 
  place 
  quietly 
  and 
  may 
  have 
  escaped 
  notice 
  or 
  attention. 
  

  

  Some 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  gigantic 
  and 
  could 
  be 
  dealt 
  with 
  at 
  great 
  length, 
  

   which 
  is 
  not 
  permitted 
  here, 
  whereas 
  others 
  are 
  still 
  in 
  the 
  formative 
  

   stage 
  and 
  data 
  must 
  be 
  withheld 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  war. 
  No 
  matter 
  what 
  

   your 
  own 
  experience 
  is 
  with 
  these 
  individual 
  fibers, 
  or 
  what 
  your 
  opin- 
  

   ion 
  of 
  them 
  may 
  be, 
  remember 
  at 
  all 
  times 
  that 
  practically 
  all 
  these 
  

   fibers, 
  yarns, 
  and 
  materials 
  are 
  custom-made 
  to 
  meet 
  any 
  domestic 
  

   technological 
  demand 
  that 
  may 
  arise. 
  Their 
  versatility 
  of 
  use 
  and 
  

   flexible 
  properties 
  have 
  been 
  of 
  tremendous 
  value 
  in 
  the 
  war 
  effort 
  

   and 
  will 
  be 
  after 
  the 
  war. 
  

  

  IMPORTANCE 
  IN 
  WAR 
  EFFORT 
  

  

  Even 
  in 
  your 
  fondest 
  dreams 
  could 
  you 
  imagine 
  that 
  insect 
  and 
  

   mosquito 
  screens 
  could 
  be 
  woven 
  actually 
  better 
  with 
  a 
  synthetic 
  

   monofilament 
  yarn 
  than 
  with 
  copper 
  wire? 
  Again, 
  just 
  imagine 
  for 
  

   a 
  second 
  where 
  we 
  would 
  be 
  in 
  this 
  war 
  if 
  it 
  had 
  not 
  been 
  for 
  nylon 
  

  

  1 
  Presented 
  at 
  the 
  March 
  1943 
  meeting 
  of 
  Committee 
  D-13 
  on 
  Textile 
  Materials. 
  Re- 
  

   printed 
  by 
  permission 
  from 
  Amer. 
  Soc. 
  for 
  Testing 
  Materials 
  Bull. 
  No. 
  122, 
  May 
  1943. 
  

  

  * 
  Abstracted 
  in 
  Amer, 
  Soc, 
  for 
  Testing 
  Materials 
  Standards 
  on 
  Textile 
  Materials, 
  p. 
  351, 
  

   October 
  1941. 
  

  

  151 
  

  

  