Plastic
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| - | # Capable of being [[moulded]]; [[malleable]], [[flexible]], [[pliant]]. | + | A '''plastic''' material is any of a wide range of [[synthetic polymers|synthetic]] or semi-synthetic [[organic chemistry|organic]] solids that are [[Malleability|malleable]]. Plastics are typically [[organic polymer]]s of high [[molecular mass]], but they often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from [[petrochemical]]s, but many are partially natural. |
| - | #* '''1749''', [[Henry Fielding|Henry Fielding]], ''[[Tom Jones|Tom Jones]]'', Folio Society 1973, p. 103: | + | |
| - | #*: the rage [...] betook itself at last to certain missile weapons; which, though from their '''plastic''' nature they threatened neither the loss of life or of limb, were, however, sufficiently dreadful to a well-dressed lady. | + | Due to their relatively low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility, and imperviousness to water, plastics are used in an enormous and expanding range of products, from paper clips to spaceships. They have already displaced many traditional materials, such as [[wood]], [[rock (geology)|stone]], [[horn (anatomy)|horn]] and [[bone]], [[leather]], [[paper]], [[metal]], [[glass]], and [[ceramic]], in most of their former uses. In developed countries, about a third of plastic is used in packaging and another third in buildings such as [[piping]] used in [[plumbing]] or [[vinyl siding]]. Other uses include automobiles (up to 20% plastic), furniture, and toys. In the developing world, the ratios may be different - for example, reportedly 42% of India's consumption is used in packaging. |
| - | # Of or pertaining to the inelastic, non-brittle, deformation of a material. | + | |
| - | # Constructed of [[polymer]]. | + | |
| - | # Inferior or not the real thing; [[ersatz]]. | + | |
| - | ==Noun== | ||
| - | # A stiff but usually slightly flexible synthetic material, generally consisting of a hydrocarbon-based [[polymer]]. | ||
| - | # Any similar synthetic material. | ||
| - | # ''slang'' [[credit card|credit]] or [[debit card]]s used in place of [[cash]] to [[buy]] [[goods]] and [[service]]s. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| *[[Great Pacific garbage patch]] | *[[Great Pacific garbage patch]] | ||
Revision as of 11:22, 18 November 2014
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A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids that are malleable. Plastics are typically organic polymers of high molecular mass, but they often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals, but many are partially natural.
Due to their relatively low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility, and imperviousness to water, plastics are used in an enormous and expanding range of products, from paper clips to spaceships. They have already displaced many traditional materials, such as wood, stone, horn and bone, leather, paper, metal, glass, and ceramic, in most of their former uses. In developed countries, about a third of plastic is used in packaging and another third in buildings such as piping used in plumbing or vinyl siding. Other uses include automobiles (up to 20% plastic), furniture, and toys. In the developing world, the ratios may be different - for example, reportedly 42% of India's consumption is used in packaging.
See also
- Great Pacific garbage patch
- North Atlantic garbage patch
- Marine debris
- Plastic particle water pollution
- Water pollution
- North Atlantic garbage patch
- Indian Ocean garbage patch
- Plastic pollution
