Chemistry Magic 161 



water to manufacture nylon, having a higher combined 

 strength and elasticity than any natural fiber. Great quantities 

 are used for parachutes and canopy cloth, shroud lines, and 

 belting for parachutes. Tough, durable paintbrush bristles, 

 and bristles for essential industrial and toilet brushes, now 

 come from coal, air, and water instead of from the back of a 

 Far Eastern hog. 



A large portion of benzol will be used in the production 

 of styrene, which polymerizes with butadiene (from petro- 

 leum) to make synthetic rubber. Coal derivatives also are 

 combined with limestone and salt to produce neoprene, the 

 first general-purpose synthetic rubber made in this country. 



Ammonia, recovered from the by-products during normal 

 times, is used largely in the production of ammonia sulphate 

 for use in ready-made fertilizers. Ammonia, as concentrated 

 ammonia liquor, is used to make refrigerating gas and in aqua 

 ammonia for cleaning. It is employed in the manufacture of a 

 large number of ammonium salts, such as ammonium chloride 

 and ammonium nitrate. The heavy use of ammonium nitrate 

 for explosives has sharply curtailed the production of this fer- 

 tilizer at present. 



Another coal-tar derivative, familiar to us as moth balls, is 

 naphthalene. This can be converted into beta naphthol, the 

 base for many dyes that are used for the dyeing of cloth for 

 uniforms, the coloring of paints in camouflage, and the pro- 

 duction of synthetic rubber. 



Oil, the Chemist's Proxy for Coal 



All these substances, and many others, do not exist, declares 

 Lancelot Hogben in Science for the Citizen, 1 because coal tar 

 itself has unique or miraculous resources. "The reason why 



1 Hogben, Lancelot, Science for the Citizen. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 

 1938. London, Allen & Unwin, Ltd. 



