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Definition: Plastic |
PlasticAdjective1. Used of the imagination; "material...transformed by the plastic power of the imagination" (Coleridge). 2. Capable of being molded or modeled (especially of earth or clay or other soft material); "plastic substances such as wax or clay". 3. Capable of being influenced or formed; "the plastic minds of children"; "a pliant nature". Noun1. Generic name for certain synthetic or semisynthetic materials that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or filaments or used for making e.g. coatings and adhesives. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "plastic" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Electrical Engineering | A resin or polymer suitable for moulding disks by application of heat to the mould cavity. Source: European Union. (references) |
Industry | Capable of being shaped or molded on application of external forces. Source: European Union. (references) |
Mining | Said of a body in which strain produces continuous, permanent deformationwithout rupture. CF:elastic. (references) |
Space | PLAsma and SupraThermal Ion and Composition (instrument on STEREO from the University of New Hampshire). (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. Their name is derived from the fact that in their semi-liquid state they are malleable, or have the property of plasticity. Plastics vary immensely in temperature tolerance, hardness, and resiliency. Combined with this adaptability, the general uniformity of composition and lightness of plastics ensures their use in almost all industrial applications today.
Natural polymers
Plastics are polymers: long-chain of carbon- or silicon-based molecules. These chains are made up of repeating fundamental molecular elements, or "monomers".
People have been using artificial organic polymers for centuries in the form of waxes and shellacs. A plant polymer named "cellulose" provides the structural strength for natural fibers and ropes, and by the early 19th century natural rubber, tapped from rubber trees, was in widespread use.
Eventually, inventors learned to improve the properties of natural polymers. Natural rubber was sensitive to temperature, becoming sticky and smelly in hot weather and brittle in cold weather. In 1834, two inventors, Friedrich Ludersdorf of Germany and Nathaniel Hayward of the US, independently discovered that adding sulfur to raw rubber helped prevent the material from becoming sticky.
In 1839, the American inventor Charles Goodyear was experimenting with the sulfur treatment of natural rubber when, according to legend, he dropped a piece of sulfur-treated rubber on a stove. The rubber seemed to have improved properties, and Goodyear followed up with further experiments, and developed a process known as "vulcanization" that involved cooking the rubber with sulfur. Compared to untreated natural rubber, Goodyear's "vulcanized rubber" was stronger, more resistant to abrasion, more elastic, much less sensitive to temperature, impermeable to gases, and highly resistant to chemicals and electric current.
Vulcanization remains an important industrial process for the manufacture of rubber in both natural and artificial forms. Natural rubber is composed of an organic polymer named "isoprene". Vulcanization creates sulfur bonds that link separate isoprene polymers together, improving the material's structural integrity and its other properties.
Cellulose based plastics: Celluloid and Rayon
All Goodyear had done with vulcanization was improve the properties of a natural polymer. The next logical step was to use a natural polymer, cellulose, as the basis for a new material.
Inventors were particularly interested in developing synthetic substitutes for those natural material that were expensive and in short supply, since that meant a profitable market to exploit. Ivory was a particularly attractive target for a synthetic replacement.
An Englishman named Alexander Parkes developed a "synthetic ivory" named "pyroxlin", which he marketed under the trade name "Parkesine", and which won a bronze medal at the 1862 World's fair in London. Parkesine was made from cellulose treated with nitric acid and a solvent. The output of the process hardened into a hard, ivory-like material that could be molded when heated.
However, Parkes was not able to scale up the process to an industrial level, and products made from Parkesine quickly warped and cracked after a short period of use. An American printer and amateur inventor named John Wesley Hyatt took up where Parkes left off. Parkes had failed for lack of a proper solvent, but Hyatt discovered that camphor would do the job very nicely.
Hyatt was something of an industrial genius who understood what could be done with such a shapeable, or "plastic", material, and proceeded to design much of the basic industrial machinery needed to produce good-quality plastic materials in quantity. Since cellulose was the main constituent used in the synthesis of his new material, Hyatt named it "celluloid". It was introduced in 1863.
One of the first products were dental pieces, and sets of false teeth built around celluloid proved cheaper than existing rubber dentures. However, celluloid dentures tended to soften when hot, making tea drinking tricky, and the camphor taste tended to be difficult to suppress.
Celluloid's real breakthrough products were waterproof shirt collars, cuffs, and the false shirt fronts known as "dickies", whose unmanageable nature later became a stock joke in silent-movie comedies. They didn't wilt and didn't stain easily, and Hyatt sold them by trainloads. Corsets made with celluloid stays also proved popular, since perspiration didn't rust the stays, as it would if they had been made of metal.
Celluloid proved extremely versatile in its field of application, providing a cheap and attractive replacement for ivory, tortoise-shell, and bone, and traditional products that had used these materials were much easier to fabricate with plastics. Some of the items made with cellulose in the 19th century were beautifully designed and implemented. For example, celluloid combs made to tie up the long tresses of hair fashionable at the time are now jewel-like museum pieces. Such pretty trinkets were no longer only for the rich.
Celluloid could also be used in entirely new applications. Hyatt figured out how to fabricate the material in a strip format for movie film. By the year 1900, movie film was a major market for celluloid.
However, celluloid still tended to yellow and crack over time, and it had another, more dangerous defect: it burned very easily and spectacularly, unsurprising given that mixtures of nitric acid and cellulose are also used to synthesize smokeless powder.
Ping-pong balls, one of the few products still made with celluloid, sizzle and burn if set on fire, and Hyatt liked to tell stories about celluloid billiard balls exploding when struck very hard. These stories might have had a basis in fact, since the billiard balls were often celluloid covered with paints based on another, even more flammable, nitrocellulose product known as "collodion". If the balls had been imperfectly manufactured, the paints might have acted as primer to set the rest of the ball off with a bang.
Cellulose was also used to produce cloth. While the men who developed celluloid were interested in replacing ivory, those who developed the new fibers were interested in replacing another expensive material, silk.
In 1884, a French chemist, the Comte de Chardonnay, introduced a cellulose-based fabric that became known as "Chardonnay silk". It was an attractive cloth, but like celluloid it was very flammable, a property completely unacceptable in clothing. After some ghastly accidents, Chardonnay silk was taken off the market.
In 1894, three British inventors, Charles Cross, Edward Bevan, and Clayton Beadle, patented a new "artificial silk" or "art silk" that was much safer. The three men sold the rights for the new fabric to the French Courtald company, a major manufacturer of silk, which put it into production in 1905, using cellulose from wood pulp as the "feedstock" material.
Art silk became well known under the trade name "rayon", and was produced in great quantities through the 1930s, when it was supplanted by better artificial fabrics. It still remains in production today, often in blends with other natural and artificial fibers. It is cheap and feels smooth on the skin, though it is weak when wet and creases easily. It could also be produced in a transparent sheet form known as "cellophane".
Bakelite (phenolic)
The limitations of celluloid led to the next major advance, known as "phenolic" or "phenol-formaldehyde" plastics. A chemist named Leo Hendrik Baekelund, a Belgian-born American living in New York state, was searching for an insulating shellac to coat wires in electric motors and generators. Baekelund found that mixtures of phenol (C6H5OH) and formaldehyde (HCOH) formed a sticky mass when mixed together and heated, and the mass became extremely hard if allowed to cool and dry.
He continued his investigations and found that the material could be mixed with wood flour, asbestos, or slate dust to create "composite" materials with different properties. Most of these compositions were strong and fire-resistant. The only problem was that the material tended to foam during synthesis, and the resulting product was of unacceptable quality.
Baekelund built pressure vessels to force out the bubbles and provide a smooth, uniform product. He publicly announced his discovery in 1909, naming it "bakelite". It was originally used for electrical and mechanical parts, finally coming into widespread use in consumer goods in the 1920s.
Bakelite was the first true plastic. It was a purely synthetic material, not based on any material or even molecule found in nature. It was also the first "thermoset" plastic. Conventional "thermoplastics" can be molded and then melted again, but thermoset plastics form bonds between polymers strands when "cured", creating a tangled matrix that cannot be undone without destroying the plastic. Thermoplastics are tough and temperature resistant.
Bakelite was cheap, strong, and durable. It was molded into thousands of forms, such as radios, telephones, clocks, and, of course, billiard balls. Phenolic plastics are still in widespread use. For example, some electronic circuit boards are made of sheets of paper or cloth impregnated with phenolic resin.
Polystyrene and PVC
After the First World War, improvements in chemical technology led to an explosion in new forms of plastics. Among the earliest examples in the wave of new plastics were "polystyrene" (PS) and "polyvinyl chloride" (PVC), developed by the I.G. Farben company of Germany.
Polystyrene is a rigid, brittle plastic that is now used to make plastic model kits, disposable eating utensils, and similar knicknacks. It would also be the basis for one of the most popular "foamed" plastics, under the name "styrene foam" or "styrofoam". Foam plastics can be synthesized in an "open cell" form, in which the foam bubbles are interconnected, as in an absorbent sponge, and "closed cell", in which all the bubbles are distinct, like tiny balloons, as in gas-filled foam insulation and floatation devices.
H H H H H H \\ / | | | | C == C -> -- C -- C -- C -- C -- / \\ | | | | HPVC has side chains incorporating chlorine atoms, which form strong bonds. PVC in its normal form is stiff, strong, heat and weather resistant, and is now used for making plumbing, gutters, house siding, enclosures for computers and other electronics gear, and compact-disk media. PVC can also be softened with chemical processing, and in this form it is now used for shrink-wrap, food packaging, and raingear.H H styrene monomer polystyrene polymer (" " is a benzene ring)
H H H H H H \\ / | | | | C == C -> -- C -- C -- C -- C -- / \\ | | | | H Cl H Cl H Cl vinyl chloride monomer polyvinyl chloride polymer
Nylon
The real star of the plastics industry in the 1930s was "polyamide" (PA), far better known by its trade name, "nylon". Nylon was the first purely synthetic fiber, introduced by Du Pont Corporation at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City.
In 1927, Du Pont had begun a secret development project designated "Fiber66", under the direction of a Harvard chemist named Wallace Carothers. Carothers had been hired to perform pure research, and not only investigated new materials, but worked to understand their molecular structure and how it related to material properties. He took some of the first steps on the road to "molecular design" of materials.
His work led to the discovery of synthetic nylon fiber, which was very strong but also very flexible. The first application was for bristles for toothbrushes. However, Du Pont's real target was silk, particularly silk stockings.
H H H H H H H H H H | | | | | | | | | | -- N -- C -- C -- C -- C -- C -- C -- N -- C -- C -- C -- C -- C -- C -- | | | | | | | | || | | | | || H H H H H H H H O H H H H OIt took Du Pont twelve years and $27 million USD to refine nylon and develop the industrial processes for bulk manufacture. With such a major investment, it was no surprise that Du Pont spared little expense to promote nylon after its introduction, creating a public sensation, or "nylon mania". Nylon mania came to an abrupt stop at the end of 1941, when America entered World War II. The production capacity that had been built up to produce nylon stockings, or just "nylons", for American women, was taken over to manufacture vast numbers of parachutes for fliers and paratroopers. After the war ended, Du Pont went back to selling nylon to the public, engaging in another promotional campaign in 1946 that resulted in an even bigger craze, triggering off "nylon riots".nylon polymer
Nylon still remains an important plastic, and not just for use in fabrics. In its bulk form it is very wear-resistant, and so is used to build gears, bearingss, bushings, and other mechanical parts.
Synthetic rubber
Another plastic that was critical to the war effort was "synthetic rubber", which was produced in a variety of forms.
Practical synthetic rubber grew out of studies published in 1930 written independently by Carothers and the German scientist Hermann Staudinger. These studies led in 1931 to one of the first successful synthetic rubbers, known as "neoprene". Neoprene is highly resistant to heat and chemicals such as oil and gasoline, and is used in fuel hoses and as an insulating material in machinery.
In 1935, German chemists synthesized the first of a series of synthetic rubbers known as "Buna rubbers". These were "copolymers", meaning that their polymers were made up from not one but two monomers, in alternating sequence. One such Buna rubber, known as "GR-S" ("Government Rubber Styrene), is a copolymer of butadiene and styrene, became the basis for US synthetic rubber production during World War II.
Worldwide natural rubber supplies were limited, and by mid-1942 most of the rubber-producing regions were under Japanese control. Military trucks needed rubber for tires, and rubber was used in almost every other war machine. The US government launched a major effort to ramp up synthetic rubber production, and by 1944 a total of 50 factories were manufacturing it, pouring out a volume of the material twice that of the world's natural rubber production before the beginning of the war.
After the war, natural rubber plantations no longer had a stranglehold on rubber supplies, particularly after chemists learned to synthesize isoprene. GR-S remains the primary synthetic rubber for the manufacture of tires.
Synthetic rubber would also play an important part in the space race and nuclear arms race. Solid rockets used during World War II used nitrocellulose explosives for propellants, but it was impractical and dangerous to make such rockets very big.
During the war, California Institute of Technology (CalTech) researchers came up with a new solid fuel, based on asphalt fuel mixed with an oxidizer, such as potassium or ammonium percholorate, plus aluminum powder, which burns very hot. This new solid fuel burned more slowly and evenly than nitrocellulose explosives, and was much less dangerous to store and use, though it tended to flow slowly out of the rocket in storage and the rockets using it had to be stockpiled nose-down.
After the war, the CalTech researchers began to investigate the use of synthetic rubbers instead of asphalt as the fuel in the mixture. By the mid-1950s, large missiles were being built using solid fuels based on synthetic rubber, mixed with ammonium perchlorate and high proportions of aluminum powder. Such solid fuels could be cast into large, uniform blocks that had no cracks or other defects that would cause nonuniform burning. Ultimately, all large military rockets and missiles would use synthetic rubber based solid fuels, and they would also play a significant part in the civilian space effort.
Plastics explosion: Acrylic, Polyethylene, etc...
Other plastics emerged in the prewar period, though some wouldn't come into widespread use until after the war.
By 1936, American, British, and German companies were producing "polymethyl methacrylate" (PMMA), better known as "acrylic". Although acrylics are now well-known for the use in paints and synthetic fibers, such as "fake furs", in their bulk form they are actually very hard and more transparent than glass, and are sold as glass replacements under trade names such as "plexiglas" and "lucite". Plexiglas was used to built aircraft canopies during the war, and it is also now used as a marble replacement for countertops.
Another important plastic, "polyethylene" (PE), sometimes known as "polythene", was discovered in 1933 by the Reginald Gibson and Eric Fawcett at the British industrial giant Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). This material evolved into two forms, "low density polyethylene" (LDPE), and "high density polyethylene" (HDPE).
H H H H H \\ / | | | C == C -> -- C -- C -- C -- / \\ | | | H H H H H ethylene monomer polyethylene polymerPEs are cheap, flexible, durable, and chemically resistant. LDPE is used to make films and packaging materials, while HDPE is used to containers, plumbing, and automotive fittings. While PE has low resistance to chemical attack, it was found later that a PE container could be made much more robust by exposing it to fluorine gas, which modified the surface layer of the container into the much tougher "polyfluoroethylene".
Polyethylene would lead after the war to an improved material, "polypropylene" (PP), which was discovered in the early 1950s by Giulio Natta. It is common in modern science and technology that the growth of the general body of knowledge can lead to the same inventions in different places at about the same time, but polypropylene was an extreme case of this phenomenon, being separately invented about nine times. It was a patent attorney's dream scenario, and litigation wasn't resolved until 1989.
Polypropylene managed to survive the legal process, and two American chemists working for Phillips Petroleum of the Netherlands, Paul Hogan and Robert Banks, are now generally credited as the "official" inventors of the material. Polypropylene is similar to its ancestor, polyethylene, and shares polyethylene's low cost, but it is much more robust. It is used in everything from plastic bottles to carpets to plastic furniture, and is very heavily used in automobiles.
CH3 H CH3 H CH3 H \\ / | | | | C == C -> -- C -- C -- C -- C -- / \\ | | | | H H H H H HPolyurethane was invented by Friedrich Bayer & Company of Germany in 1937, and would come into use after the war in blown form for mattresses, furniture padding, and thermal insulation. It is also used in non-blown form for sports wear as "lycra".propylene monomer polypropylene polymer
In 1939, I.G. Farben Industrie of Germany filed a patent for "polyepoxide" or "epoxy". Epoxies are a class of thermoset plastic that form cross-links and "cure" when a catalyzing agent, or "hardener", is added. After the war they would come into wide use for coatings, "adhesives", and composite materials.
Composites using epoxy as a matrix include glass-reinforced plastic, where the structural element is glass fiber, and "carbon-epoxy composites", in which the structural element is carbon fiber. Fiberglass is now often used to build sport boats, and carbon-epoxy composites are an increasingly important structural element in aircraft, as they are lightweight, strong, and heat-resistant.
Two chemists named Rex Whinfield and James Dickson, working at a small English company with the quaint name of the "Calico Printer's Association" in Manchester, developed "polyethylene terephthalate" (PET or PETE) in 1941, and it would be used for synthetic fibers in the postwar era, with names such as "polyester", "dacron", and "terylene".
PET is more impermeable than other low-cost plastics and so is a popular material for making bottles for Coca-Cola and other "fizzy drinks", since carbonation tends to attack other plastics, and for acidic drinks such as fruit or vegetable juices. PET is also strong and abrasion resistant, and is used for making mechanical parts, food trays, and other items that have to endure abuse. PET films, tradenamed "mylar", are used to make recording tape.
One of the most impressive plastics used in the war, and a top secret, was "polytetrafluoroethylene" (PTFE), better known as "teflon", which could be deposited on metal surfaces as a scratchproof and corrosion-resistant, low-friction protective coating. The polyfluoroethylene surface layer created by exposing a polyethylene container to fluorine gas is very similar to teflon.
A Du Pont chemist name Roy Plunkett discovered teflon by accident in 1938. During the war, it was used in gaseous-diffusion processes to refine uranium for the atomic bomb, as the process was highly corrosive. By the early 1960s, teflon "non-stick" frying pans were a hot consumer item.
F F F F F \\ / | | | C == C -> -- C -- C -- C -- / \\ | | | F F F F F tetrafluoroethylene monomer teflon polymerTeflon was later used to synthesize the miracle fabric "GoreTex", which can be used to build raingear that in principle "breathes" to keep the wearer's moisture from building up. GoreTex is also used for surgical implants; teflon strand is used to make dental floss; and teflon mixed with fluorine compounds is used to make "decoy" flares dropped by aircraft to distract heat-seeking missiles.
After the war, the new plastics that had been developed entered the consumer mainstream in a flood. New manufacturing were developed, using various forming, molding, casting, and extrusion processes, to churn out plastic products in vast quantities. American consumers enthusiastically adopted the endless range of colorful, cheap, and durable plastic gimmicks being produced for new suburban home life.
One of the most visible parts of this plastics invasion was Earl Tupper's "tupperware", a complete line of sealable polyethylene food containers that Tupper cleverly promoted through a network of housewives who sold Tupperware as a means of bringing some money. The tupperware line of products was well thought out and highly effective, greatly reducing spoilage of foods in storage. Thin-film "plastic wrap" that could be purchased in rolls also helped keep food fresh.
Another prominent element in 1950s homes was "formica", a plastic laminate that was used to surface furniture and cabinetry. Formica was durable and attractive. It was particularly useful in kitchens, as it did not absorb, and could be easily cleaned of, stains from food preparation, such as blood or grease. With formica, a very attractive and well-built table could be built using low-cost and lightweight plywood with formica covering, rather than expensive and heavy hardwoods like oak or mahogany.
Composite materials like fiberglass came into use for building boats and, in some cases, cars. Polyurethane foam was used to fill mattresses, and styrofoam was used to line ice coolers and make float toys.
Plastics continue to be improved. General Electric introduced "lexan", a high-impact "polycarbonate" plastic, in the 1970s. Du Pont developed "kevlar", an extremely strong synthetic fiber that was best-known for its use in bullet-proof vests and combat helmets. Kevlar was so remarkable that Du Pont officials actually had to release statements to deny rumors that the company had received the recipe for it from space aliens.
One of the most potentially important new developments in plastic are circuits out of plastics is conductive polymers. Electronic circuitry fabricated using plastics or other materials that could be simply printed on a substrate could be incredibly cheap, opening the door to throwaway electronic devices that would cost pennies, or to applications hardly dreamed of now.
So far, electronic devices made with such materials have not been acceptable for production, but in 2001, prototypes of flat-panel displays based on such technologies were being publicly demonstrations, with predictions of commercial introduction in two or three years.
The environment
Although plastics have had a remarkable impact on our culture, it has become increasingly obvious that there is a price to be paid for their use.
The first controversy arose in the late 1950s and early 1960s. There were a number of incidents where small children crawled into plastic bags used by launderers to cover clothing and suffocated. The plastics industry managed to fend off trouble by launching a massive public-education campaign.
By the late 1960s, plastics were increasingly seen as a symbol of an outdated 1950s consumer culture. The term "plastic" became an insult, used to describe someone thought of as soulless. At the end of the 1960s, the Beatles would even sing of "Polythene Pam", a "go-getter" who would do anything to get ahead.
This was partly just a fashion statement, since plastics remained in widespread use anyway, and in many cases were much more effective and environmentally benign than alternative materials. However, this led to a problem as well, since the consumption of massive amounts of plastic goods led to an massive problem with litter and waste disposal.
Plastic was almost too good, as it was durable and degraded very slowly. In some cases burning it could release toxic fumes. There were also the problems that manufacturing plastics often created large quantities of nasty chemical pollutants, and depleted the Earth's bounded supply of fossil fuels.
By the 1990s, plastic recycling programs were common in the United States and elsewhere. Thermoplastics can be remelted and reused, and thermoset plastics can be ground up and used as filler, though the purity of the material tends to degrade with each reuse cycle. There are methods by which plastics can be broken back down to a feedstock state.
Products such as automobiles are now being designed to make recycling of their large plastic parts easier. To assist recycling of disposable items, the Plastic Bottle Institute of the Society of the Plastics Industry devised a now-familiar scheme to mark plastic bottles by plastic type. A recyclable plastic container using this scheme is marked with a triangle with three "chasing arrows" inside of it, which enclose a number giving the plastic type:
Unfortunately, recycling plastics proved difficult. The biggest problem with plastics recycling is that it is difficult to automate the sorting of plastic waste, and so it is labor-intensive. While containers are usually made from a single type and color of plastic, making them relatively easy to sort out, a consumer toy like a cellular phone may many small parts consisting of over a dozen different types and colors of plastics. As the value of the material is low, recycling plastics is unprofitable. For this reason, the percentage of plastics recycled in the US is very small, somewhere around 5%.
- PETE
- HDPE
- PVC
- LDPE
- PP
- PS
- OTHER
Research has been done on "biodegradable" plastics that break down with exposure to sunlight. Starch can be mixed with plastic to allow it to degrade more easily, but it still doesn't lead to complete breakdown of the plastic. Some researchers have actually genetically engineered bacteria that synthesize a completely biodegradable plastic, but this material is expensive at present.
So far, these plastics have proven too costly and limited for general use, and critics have pointed out that they only real problem they address is roadside litter, which is regarded as a secondary issue. When such plastic materials are dumped into landfills, they can become "mummified" and persist for decades even if they are supposed to be biodegradable.
There have been some success stories. The Courtald concern, the original producer of rayon, came up with a revised process for the material in the mid-1980s to produce "tencel". Tencel has much superior properties to rayon, but is still produced from "biomass" feedstocks, and its manufacture is extraordinarily clean by the standards of plastic production. Whether the use of plastics can be made completely consistent with environmental quality still remains to be seen.
Common plastics and their typical uses
;polyethylene (PE) :wide range of uses, very inexpensive ;polypropylene (PP) :food containers ;polystyrene (PS) :packaging foam, food containers, disposable cups, plates and cutlery ;polyethylene terephthalate (PETE) :beverage containers ;Polyamide (Nylon) :fibres, toothbrush bristles, fishing line ;polyester :fibres, textiles ;polyvinyl chloride (PVC) :plumbing pipes ;polycarbonate :compact discs ;acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) :electronic equipment cases (e.g. computer monitors, printers, keyboards)
Special purpose plastics
;Teflon :heat resistant, low-friction coatings ;Polyurethane :insulation foam, upholstery foam ;Bakelite :insulating parts in electrical fixtures (strictly speaking not a plastic, but a ceramic material using a phenolic resin binder)
See also
- Injection moulding
- Polymer
- Synthetic fibers
- Timeline of materials technology
Quote
Not to be forgotten, the famous advice from The Graduate:
- "I just want to say one word to you...just one word."--Mr. McGuire (Walter Brooke) to Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman)
- "Yes, sir."--Ben
- "Are you listening?"--Mr.McGuire
- "Yes, sir. I am."--Ben
- "Plastics."--Mr. McGuire
External link
Substantial parts of this text originated from An Introduction To Plastics v1.0 / 01 mar 01 / gvgoebel@yahoo.com / public domain Other uses of this term include: plasticity, the property
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Plastic."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Plastic surgery is a general term for surgery which is performed for functional or aesthetic reasons.
The principal areas of plastic surgery include two broad fields.
- Reconstructive surgery, including microsurgery, which focusses on undoing or masking the destructive effects of trauma, surgery or disease. Such surgery may include closing defects by transplantion of tissue from other parts of the body.
- Cosmetic (or aesthetic) surgery, which most is often done to change features the patient find unflattering. In a few cases, however, there may be medical reasons (for example, breast reduction when orthopedic problems are present).
Reconstructive surgery
Common cases of reconstructive surgery are breast reconstruction for women who have had a mastectomy, facial- and contracture surgery for burn victims, closing skin- or mucosa defects after removal of tumors in the head and neck region.
There is a definite gray area between plastic and cosmetic surgery. For instance a bat ear correction is not considered cosmetic surgery, however, this is not a debilitating or dangerous condition.
Cosmetic surgery
Many people take a dim view of cosmetic surgery, as they see it as frivolous. It does, at any rate, involve some risk (like any operation) and should therefore not be undertaken lightly. Within the US, critics of plastic surgery have noted that it is legal for any doctor (regardless of speciality) to perform plastic surgery; a practice which, critics argue, leads to poorly performed surgery.
Despite criticism, cosmetic surgery is becoming more popular as less expensive and better techniques are being developed. There are numerous types of cosmetic surgery that can be performed. The most prevelant are listed below. Most of these types of surgery are more commonly known by their "common names." These are also listed when pertinent.
- Abdominoplasty (or "tummy tuck"): reshaping and firming of the abdomen
- Blepharoplasty (or "eyelid surgery"): Reshaping of the eyelids and the application of permenant eyeliner
- Augmentation Mammaplasty (or "breast enlargement"): Augmentation of the breasts
- Chemical peel: Removal of acne scars and sagging skin—not technically surgery and can be performed by a cosmetologist
- Mastopexy (or "breast lift"): Raising of sagging breasts
- Rhinoplasty: Reshaping of the nose
- Rhytidectomy (or "face lift"): Removal of wrinkles and signs of aging from the face
- Suction-Assisted Lipectomy (or liposuction): Removal of fat from the body
Related disciplines
- Hand surgery is not strictly a field of plastic surgery, as it is also performed by many orthopedic surgeons. However, many hand operations (such as reconstruction of injuries, replantations, rheumatoid surgery and surgery of congenital defects) are performed by plastic surgeons.
- Maxillofacial surgery (surgery involving the jaw) is not usually considered a field of plastic surgery, although there is significant overlap of techniques and operations.
Addiction to cosmetic surgery
Some people appear to become addicted to cosmetic surgery, possibly because of body dysmorphic disorder. Sufficient amounts of repeated cosmetic surgery can lead to irreversible damage to the normal body structure. However, due to the high cost of repeated cosmetic surgery, this disorder is generally one limited to the wealthy.
See also: body modification
External link
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons: http://www.plasticsurgery.org/
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Plastic surgery."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Thermoplasticity is plasticity related to heat. A thermoplastic can be stretched and moulded when hot.Thermoplastic materials include many addition polymers such as polythene and polypropylene.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Thermoplasticity."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| PLCC | English | Plastic leaded chip carrier | Computing, Electrical Engineering |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: PlasticSynonyms: fictile (adj), moldable (adj), pliant (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Arms | High explosive; trinitrotoluene, TNT; dynamite, melinite, cordite, lyddite, plastic explosive, plastique; pyroxyline. |
Changeableness | Unstaid, inconstant; unsteady, unstable, unfixed, unsettled; fluctuating; Verb: restless; agitated; erratic, fickle; irresolute; capricious; touch and go; inconsonant, fitful, spasmodic; vibratory; vagrant, wayward; desultory; afloat; alternating; alterable, plastic, mobile; transient; wavering. |
Elasticity | Rubber, India(n) rubber, latex, caoutchouc, whalebone, gum elastic, baleen, natural rubber; neoprene, synthetic rubber, Buna-S, plastic. |
Form | Plastic, fictile; formative; fluid. |
Payment | Pay by credit card, put it on the plastic. |
Softness | Adjective: soft, tender, supple; pliant, pliable; flexible, flexile; lithe, lithesome; lissom, limber, plastic; ductile; tractile, tractable; malleable, extensile, sequacious, inelastic; aluminous; remollient. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Brick Top's way of doing business is with a stun gun, a plastic bag, a roll of tape, and a pack of hungry pigs (Snatch.; writing credit: Guy Ritchie) Tuesday's plastic corrosion awareness meeting was a big success (Toy Story; writing credit: John Lasseter; Andrew Stanton) Dottie, I married a plastic surgeon (A League of Their Own; writing credit: Kim Wilson; Kelly Candaele) You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could and before you even knew what you had you patented it and packaged it and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you're selling it, you want to sell it (Jurassic Park; writing credit: Michael Crichton) It's plastic! (Scooby-Doo; writing credit: William Hanna; Joseph Barbera) | |
Lyrics | Life in plastic, it's fantastic (Barbie Girl; performing artist: Aqua) No plastic money anymore (Rock Me Amadeus; performing artist: Falco) You should feel the impact, shop on plastic (Ride Wit Me (Featuring City Spud); performing artist: Nelly) Chasing dragons with plastic swords (A Change (Would Do You Good); performing artist: Sheryl Crow) ‘Cause I’ve had enough of plastic people wasting my time (Ohh It's Kinda Crazy; performing artist: Soul Decision) | |
Clever | Plastic glasses (references; author: unknown) California: By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Plastic Mile (1969) Repairs to Reinforced Plastic Boats (1960) Plastic Surgery in Wartime (1941) The Plastic Age (1925) Plastic Fantastic (2003) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References |
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Books |
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Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Consumer Goods |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | (1) color slide shows a clear plastic container (dish) filled with strawberry frozen yogurt, (looks like it came out of a soft ice cream dispenser, swirled). Credit: Renee Comet (photographer). |  | 26' plastic pig at the end of a hydrographic survey line Approaching the northwest tip of Congo Cay Launch off of WHITING. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Plastic Pig on line WHITING launch in Pillsbury Sound. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Northern fulmar eating plastic in North Pacific. Credit: Fisheries. |
 | A coral fragment reattached using experimental plastic ties. The use of plastic ties proved to be unsuccessful because the straps could not be tightened enough to secure the corals. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center. |  | Scientists monitor the gravel composition and levels of dissolved oxygen in the creek. The process requires the insertion of plastic pipes into the streambed at a depth where fish eggs are found. The scientists use an oxygen probe to measure the levels of dissolved oxygen and measure the cleanliness of the gravel to determine suitability of the riverbed as spawning habitat. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center. |
 | Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Trail covered with marsh grass debris and some plastic. Credit: National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERR). |  | Plastic bags are meant to discourage boobies from landing on the masthead. Apparently they don't work. On the NOAA Ship McARTHUR during STAR 2000 operations in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |
 | Figure 1. A plastic Secchi disk of recent origin. This disk is lowered in the water until it disappears from sight. The depth at which it disappears is a measure of the water's transparency. Father Angelo Secchi devised this method in 1865 and tested it aboard the Vatican vessel IMMACOLATA CONCEZIONE. Several models were tested of different colors. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |  | District Conservationist in Eastern New Mexico inspects tree planting. Ground was covered with plastic for weed control. Credit: Gary Kramer. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Cracked plastic floor mat" by Johnnie Crash Commentary: "Old cracked plastic floor mat.. not much more can be said." | "Plastic Tulips" by Krista Commentary: "Close-up of plastic tulip lights. ." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Play | Caption |
 | Tossing a plastic poker chip into a pile of other chips. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Guillaume Apollinaire | The plastic virtues: purity, unity, and truth, keep nature in subjection. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | And not only it, but the institutions upon it are plastic like clay in the hands of the potter |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Place the tick in a plastic bag and put it in your freezer. (references) | |
Remove the metal canister from the L-shaped plastic mouthpiece. (references) | ||
Hunters and trappers should use plastic gloves to avoid exposure. (references) | ||
Business | Half the imported waste was iron scrap and plastic residues. (references) | |
About two thirds of Italy’s plastic raw materials are imported. (references) | ||
A limited quantity of plastic material is produced in the country. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Rwanda | In late 2000, several "storefront" churches consisting of wooden frames covered by plastic sheeting were torn down because the churches were not registered with the Ministry of Justice. (references) |
Economic History | Italy | New local government programs and the growing awareness of environmental problems will also stimulate recycling and treatment of non-hazardous and hazardous materials, such as plastic, glass, paper, spent household batteries, pesticides, containers of toxic and flammable materials, and oils and emulsions. (references) |
Costa Rica | U.S. market share for plastic materials and resins in 2000 was 67.9 percent. (references) | |
Human Rights | Libya | Methods of torture reportedly include: Chaining to a wall for hours; clubbing; applying electric shock; applying corkscrews to the back; pouring lemon juice in open wounds; breaking fingers and allowing the joints to heal without medical care; suffocating with plastic bags; depriving of food and water; hanging by the wrists; suspending from a pole inserted between the knees and elbows; burning with cigarettes; attacking with dogs; and beating on the soles of the feet. (references) |
India | In Chennai, Tamil Nadu, five persons were killed and dozens were injured on August 12 after police fired plastic bullets at demonstrators at an opposition rally, causing at least three of the deaths (the circumstances surrounding the other 2 deaths are unclear). (references) | |
Indonesia | Ten thousand workers protesting the new severance pay decree in June threw stones, wood, and plastic bottles, injuring at least nine persons and damaging two hotels in Jakarta. (references) | |
Political Economy | MALAYSIA | In October 2000, the Plastic Resins Producers Group of the Malaysian Petrochemicals Association requested government help in overcoming the combined effect of high feedstock resins and cheaper imported resins. (references) |
COLOMBIA | Other important export products are gold, emeralds, chemical products, plastic products, machinery, textiles and apparel. (references) | |
GHANA | This tax no longer applies to used clothing, powdered milk, paper and plastic products. (references) | |
Trade | Argentina | Products affected include certain organic and inorganic chemicals; plastics and products made of plastic; leader products; products made of paper or paperboard; textile products; apparel; footwear; wood and articles made of wood; printed products; iron, steel and metal products; capital goods and furniture. (references) |
Jordan | The government bans the import of plastic waste, the narcotic plant "qat", and diesel passenger cars. (references) | |
Malaysia | After review, in 1998, tariffs on plastic resins were lowered to 20%. In August 2000, Malaysia reduced import duties on fertilizers from 15% to 5% in order to boost agricultural production. (references) | |
Travel | Czech Rep | Coffee and tea will be served in real china cups and juice or water in glass or crystal - never plastic or Styrofoam. (references) |
Women | Kuwait | In 2000 a Sri Lankan maid was beaten severely with a plastic water pipe, strangled with a wire, and repeatedly tortured with a hot iron, allegedly by a Kuwaiti couple who employed her. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | FEMALE, n. One of the opposing, or unfair, sex. The Maker, at Creation's birth, With living things had stocked the earth. From elephants to bats and snails, They all were good, for all were males. But when the Devil came and saw He said: "By Thine eternal law Of growth, maturity, decay, These all must quickly pass away And leave untenanted the earth Unless Thou dost establish birth" -- Then tucked his head beneath his wing To laugh -- he had no sleeve -- the thing With deviltry did so accord, That he'd suggested to the Lord. The Master pondered this advice, Then shook and threw the fateful dice Wherewith all matters here below Are ordered, and observed the throw; Then bent His head in awful state, Confirming the decree of Fate. From every part of earth anew The conscious dust consenting flew, While rivers from their courses rolled To make it plastic for the mould. Enough collected (but no more, For niggard Nature hoards her store) He kneaded it to flexible clay, While Nick unseen threw some away. And then the various forms He cast, Gross organs first and finer last; No one at once evolved, but all By even touches grew and small Degrees advanced, till, shade by shade, To match all living things He'd made Females, complete in all their parts Except (His clay gave out) the hearts. "No matter," Satan cried; "with speed I'll fetch the very hearts they need" -- So flew away and soon brought back The number needed, in a sack. That night earth range with sounds of strife -- Ten million males each had a wife; That night sweet Peace her pinions spread O'er Hell -- ten million devils dead! G.J. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Joan Rivers | In school. I watch my diet all the time. Truly, truly, I watch my diet, but I cheat. I live on Cool Whip. I am an all inside plastic person. |
Rush Limbaugh | The fires that torched three nearly completed houses were all ignited by birthday candles that had been attached to the handles of plastic jugs filled with gasoline. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Plastic" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Plastic" is used about 4,048 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 4,048 | 2,429 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name | Country | Name |
| France | Compagnie Plastic Omnium | Japan | Nissei Plastic Industrial Co., Ltd. |
| Malaysia | Daibochi Plastic and Packaging Industry Berhad | Poland | Boryszew S.A. Chemical and Plastic Works |
| South Korea | National Plastic | Thailand | Thai Plastic and Chemical Public Company Limited |
| USA | Plastic Containers, Inc. | ||
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "plastic": abs plastic ♦ acrylic plastic ♦ amino plastic ♦ Bingham plastic ♦ chlorinated plastic ♦ cover with plastic ♦ disposable plastic bag ♦ epoxy plastic ♦ fluorocarbon plastic ♦ foam plastic ♦ laminated plastic ♦ packet in Plastic Grid Array ♦ paper plastic overlay ♦ phenolic plastic ♦ plastic art ♦ plastic arts ♦ plastic bag ♦ plastic behaviour ♦ plastic bomb ♦ plastic bullet ♦ plastic clay ♦ plastic coating ♦ plastic cup ♦ plastic deformation ♦ plastic dummies ♦ plastic element ♦ Plastic Embedding ♦ plastic explosive ♦ plastic exudation ♦ plastic film ♦ plastic flowers ♦ plastic foods ♦ plastic footwear ♦ plastic force ♦ plastic industry ♦ plastic laminate ♦ plastic materials ♦ plastic money ♦ plastic nut ♦ plastic operation ♦ plastic optical fiber ♦ plastic optical fibre ♦ plastic pants ♦ plastic Pin Grid Array ♦ plastic range ♦ plastic refractory ♦ plastic screw ♦ plastic spray packaging ♦ plastic surfaced laminated leather ♦ plastic surgeon ♦ plastic surgery ♦ plastic surgery by a flap method ♦ plastic tape ♦ plastic technician ♦ plastic wrap ♦ put it on the plastic ♦ sealed plastic bag ♦ surface made entirely of plastic material ♦ thermosetting plastic ♦ translucent plastic. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "plastic": plastic-based, plastic-belted, plastic-bodied, plastic-canvas, plastic-coated, plastic-covered, plastic-debt, plastic-elastic, plastic-faced, plastic-film, plastic-flexing, plastic-flighted, plastic-flowers, plastic-fronted, plastic-grid, plastic-handled, plastic-immobilized, plastic-like, plastic-lined, plastic-pitched, plastic-rigid, plastic-sailed, plastic-scented, plastic-sheeted, plastic-shrouded, plastic-sided, plastic-straw, plastic-tasting, plastic-topped, plastic-wrapped. | |
Ending with "plastic": all-plastic, anti-plastic, form-plastic, moulded-plastic, wood-plastic. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
plastic surgery | 5,489 | plastic manufacturer | 221 |
plastic | 2,061 | la plastic surgery | 214 |
plastic surgeon | 1,284 | southern california plastic surgery | 205 |
plastic bag | 766 | orange county plastic surgery | 204 |
plastic model | 716 | plastic surgery pasadena | 201 |
plastic canvas | 669 | newport beach plastic surgery | 201 |
plastic bottle | 584 | plastic recycling | 200 |
free pattern for plastic canvas | 561 | demi moore plastic surgery | 197 |
plastic container | 533 | long beach plastic surgery | 196 |
plastic injection molding | 327 | plastic lumber | 193 |
plastic surgery california | 327 | plastic tank | 191 |
plastic box | 306 | plastic pipe | 187 |
plastic plane | 303 | plastic card | 185 |
plastic molding | 301 | plastic model car | 182 |
plastic canvas pattern | 294 | ge plastic | 182 |
plastic pants | 285 | plastic surgery picture | 180 |
plastic cup | 279 | plastic product | 177 |
los angeles plastic surgery | 259 | plastic fence | 174 |
plastic manufacturing | 241 | plastic packaging | 173 |
plastic sheet | 223 | tap plastic | 169 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "plastic"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | plastiek, beeldend. (various references) | |
Albanian | prej plastmasi, plastmas, plastik (ductile), lëndë plastike, i rremë (affected, delusive, delusory, fallible, false, fictitious, fictive, hollow, illusive, lying, mendacious, meretricious, mock, out of whole cloth, pasteboard, phoney, phony, pinchbeck, pseudo, simulated, spoof, spurious, supposititious, untruthful), i ndikueshëm (impressible, impressionable, pervious, sensitive, suggestible), fals (affected, bogus, dummy, false, off-key, out of whole cloth, painted, snide, spurious, untrue). (various references) | |
Arabic | كرت إئتمان, مطواع (malleable, pliant, supple, yielding), مرن (ductile, elastic, field, flexible, limber, lissom, lissome, lithesome, malleable, pliable, pliant, resilient, supple, yielding), لين (clemency, ductile, elastic, flabbiness, flabby, flaccid, flaccidity, flexible, gentleness, lax, laxity, lenience, leniency, limp, limpness, loose, make flexible, make soft, make tender, malleable, manageable, mellow, mildness, moderate, plasticize, pliable, pliant, resilient, soft, soften, supple, temper, tender, yielding), لدن (ductile, elastic, flexible, limber, lissom, lissome, lithe, lithesome, pliant, soft, supple, yielding), لدائن بلاستيك, طيع (biddable, docile, malleable, manageable, pliable, tractable), بلاستي. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | синтетичен (inflexional, synthetic), гъвкав (elastic, facile, flexible, light-heeled, lightsome, limber, lissom, lissome, lithe, lithesome, pliable, pliant, resilient, sinuous, snaky, soft, supple, svelte, tractable, versatile, willowy), полиетиленов, пластмасов, пластмаса, пластически, пластичен (fictile, pliable, sculptural, sculpturesque, tempered, yielding). (various references) | |
Chinese | 玻璃 (glass, nylon), 塑料 (Plastical, Plastically). (various references) | |
Czech | plastikový, plastický (graphic, sculpturesque), plast, výtvarný (pictorial), umìlá hmota (synthetic), tvárný (tractable). (various references) | |
Danish | plastisk, plast, neoplastisk (neoplastic). (various references) | |
Dutch | van plastic, plastisch, plastic. (various references) | |
Esperanto | plasto, plastika, plasta. (various references) | |
Farsi | پلاستیک , مجسمه سازی (Imagery, Sculpture), ماده پلاستیکی , نرم (Downy, Effeminate, Fine, Floppy, Levigate, Limber, Lithe, Mellow, Pliant, Silken, Silky, Sleek, Slick, Smooth, Soft, Spongy, Suave, Supple, Tractable, Velvet), قالب پذیر, قابل تحول وتغییر, تغییرپذیر (Changeable, Convertible, Skittish, Supple, Variable). (various references) | |
Finnish | muovi. (various references) | |
French | plastique (plastic art), matière plastique (plastics). (various references) | |
German | plastisch (graphic, malleable, sculptural, three dimensional, vivid, workable), plastik (plastic art, plastic surgery, sculpture, vividness), kunststoff (man-made material, plastics, synthetic, synthetic material, synthetic substance). (various references) | |
Greek | νεοπλαστικός, πλαστικόσ, πλαστικός, πλαστικό υλικό, πλαστικό, πλαστική ύλη, εύπλαστοσ (ductile, malleable, pliable, waxy). (various references) | |
Hebrew | פלסטי, עצובי, גמיש (adaptable, elastic, flexible, pliable, pliant, svelte). (various references) | |
Hungarian | képlékeny (ductile, malleable), alakítható (ductile). (various references) | |
Indonesian | plastik. (various references) | |
Irish | plaisteach. (various references) | |
Italian | plastica (plastic art, plastics), plastico (cosmetic). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | プラザ合意 (a little more than usual, plaster, plasterboard, plastic model, plastic money, Plaza agreement, plus), 可塑 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | プラスチック , かそ (depopulation). (various references) | |
Korean | 소성. (various references) | |
Manx | plastagh, lhoobagh (arching, bending, bowing, coiled, convoluted, crooked, crooked morally, curved, curvilinear, faltering, inflexional, limber, pliable, serpentine, shifty, sinuous, snakiness, supple, terry, tortuous, twisting, vermiculate, willowy, winding). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | asticplay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | plástico (fictile). (various references) | |
Romanian | plastic (fictile, graphic, graphical, graphically, pictorial, soft, suggestively). (various references) | |
Russian | лепной (raised), пластмассовый, пластмасса пластический, пластмасса (plastic material), пластичный (sculpturesque), пластический (figurative), пластиковый. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | plastika, plastičan (fictile). (various references) | |
Spanish | plástico. (various references) | |
Swedish | plast (thermoplastic), plastisk (ductile, gracefull). (various references) | |
Turkish | plastik (cosmetic). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | ліпний, піддатливий (accessible, amenable, applicant, compliant, flexible, malleable, pliant, ready, sequacious, squeezable, supple, waxen, waxy), пластмасовий, пластмаса, пластичний (waxen), пластика (callisthenics), пластик. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | mềm mỏng (tender), hay chiều đời; dễ uốn nắn, dẻo (flexible, flexile, plastically, soft, yielding). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | plastikos. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "plastic": plastically, plasticene, plasticenes, plasticine, plasticines, plasticities, plasticity, plasticization, plasticizations, plasticize, plasticized, plasticizer, plasticizers, plasticizes, plasticizing, plasticky, plastics. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "plastic": achondroplastic, anaplastic, antineoplastic, aplastic, chloroplastic, dysplastic, esemplastic, homoplastic, hyperplastic, hypoplastic, metaplastic, neoplastic, nonplastic, osteoplastic, superplastic, thermoplastic, thromboplastic. (additional references) | |
Words containing "plastic": neoplasticism, neoplasticisms, neoplasticist, neoplasticists, nonplastics, superplasticities, superplasticity, thermoplasticities, thermoplasticity, thermoplastics. (additional references) | |
| |
"Plastic" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: blastic, lastic, Listica, palustria, Pasvik, piastic, plalstic, plantac, plasis, plastc, plastek, plastice, plasticene, Plasticey, plastici, plastis, plastisol, plastix, plastuc, Plestin, ploesti, Psamtik. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "plastic" (pronounced pla"stik) |
| 7 | p l a" s t i k | thermoplastic. |
| 6 | -l a" s t i k | elastic, iconoclastic, inelastic, interscholastic, scholastic. |
| 5 | -a" s t i k | bombastic, drastic, dynastic, ecclesiastic, enthusiastic, fantastic, gymnastic, monastic, onomastic, sarcastic, unenthusiastic. |
| 4 | -s t i k | acoustic, agnostic, altruistic, anachronistic, antagonistic, artistic, atavistic, atheistic, autistic, ballistic, capitalistic, caustic, characteristic, chauvinistic, coloristic, cystic, deterministic, diagnostic, domestic, drumstick, dualistic, euphemistic, evangelistic, expressionistic, fatalistic, feudalistic, futuristic, hedonistic, holistic, humanistic, idealistic, imperialistic, impressionistic, individualistic, jingoistic, journalistic, legalistic, linguistic, logistic, majestic, masochistic, materialistic, mechanistic, militaristic, monopolistic, moralistic, mystic, narcissistic, nationalistic, naturalistic, novelistic, oligopolistic, opportunistic, optimistic, pantheistic, paternalistic, patristic, pessimistic, pluralistic, polytheistic, primitivistic, propagandistic, puristic, realistic, relativistic, ritualistic, rustic, sadistic, sensationalistic, simplistic, socialistic, statistic, stylistic, surrealistic, synergistic, terroristic, uncharacteristic, unrealistic, voyeuristic. |
| 3 | -t i k | acetic, acrobatic, aerobatic, aesthetic, alphabetic, amniotic, analytic, anesthetic, Antarctic, antibiotic, antic, anticlimactic, antiseptic, aortic, apathetic, apocalyptic, apologetic, apoplectic, aquatic, arctic, aristocratic, arithmetic, aromatic, arthritic, ascetic, asthmatic, astronautic, asymptomatic, athletic, attic, authentic, autocratic, automatic, axiomatic, bureaucratic, catalytic, cathartic, chaotic, charismatic, chiropractic, cinematic, climactic, climatic, cosmetic, critic, cryptic, cultic, democratic, dendritic, despotic, diabetic, diagrammatic, dialectic, diamagnetic, didactic, dietetic, diplomatic, diuretic, dogmatic, dramatic, eclectic, ecliptic, ecstatic, electrolytic, electromagnetic, electrostatic, emblematic, emetic, empathetic, emphatic, energetic, enigmatic, enzymatic, epigenetic, epileptic, erotic, erratic, exotic, extragalactic, fanatic, ferromagnetic, fiberoptic, frantic, frenetic, galactic, genetic, geomagnetic, gigantic, granitic, halophytic, hectic, hemolytic, hepatic, heretic, hermaphroditic, homeostatic, homiletic, hyperkinetic, hypnotic, idiomatic, idiosyncratic, idiotic, kinesthetic, kinetic, lactic, lymphatic, magnetic, mathematic, melodramatic, monochromatic, narcotic, neritic, neurotic, numismatic, operatic, optic, orthodontic, pancreatic, paralytic, paramagnetic, parasitic, parasympathetic, parthenogenetic, pathetic, patriotic, pectic, pedantic, peptic, peripatetic, phonetic, phosphatic, pneumatic, poetic, porphyritic, posttraumatic, pragmatic, prismatic, problematic, programmatic, prophetic, prophylactic, prostatic, prosthetic, psychoanalytic, psychosomatic, psychotherapeutic, psychotic, quixotic, rheumatic, robotic, romantic, schematic, semantic, semiautomatic, semiotic, septic, skeptic, static, sycophantic, symbiotic, sympathetic, symptomatic, synthetic, systematic, tactic, technocratic, thematic, theocratic, therapeutic, thrombolytic, transatlantic, traumatic, triptych, unapologetic, unauthentic, undemocratic, undiplomatic, unpatriotic, unsympathetic. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-i-l-p-s-t" | |
-1 letter: claspt, pastil, plaits, spital, ticals. | |
-2 letters: alist, aspic, claps, clapt, clasp, clast, clips, clipt, clits, laics, lapis, litas, pacts, pails, pical, picas, pitas, plait, plats, plica, salic, scalp, slipt, spail, spait, spica, spilt, splat, split, tails, talcs, tapis, tical. | |
-3 letters: acts, ails, aits, alit, alps, alts, asci, caps, cast, cats, cist, clap, clip. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-i-l-p-s-t" | |
+1 letter: aplastic, capitals, capitols, coalpits, plastics, septical, tieclasp. | |
+2 letters: apostolic, asphaltic, cisplatin, particles, plasmatic, plasticky, scapolite, sceptical, skeptical, slapstick, specialty, tieclasps. | |
+3 letters: analeptics, anaplastic, applicants, caliphates, capitalise, capitalism, capitalist, captiously, captoprils, cisplatins, complaints, duplicates, dysplastic, epiblastic, explicates, implicates, inculpates, lymphatics, neoplastic, nonplastic, occipitals, paralytics, patchoulis, phthisical, pictorials, placations, plasticene, plasticine, plasticity, plasticize, pleonastic, plications, postcoital, practicals, prolactins, replicates, scapolites, scriptural, septicidal, sincipital, slapsticks, specialest, specialist, speciality, supplicant, supplicate, synoptical, tailpieces. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Sounds 10. Quotations: Familiar 11. Quotations: Fiction 12. Quotations: Non-fiction | 13. Quotations: Spoken 14. Usage Frequency 15. Names: Company Usage 16. Expressions | 17. Expressions: Internet 18. Translations: Modern 19. Translations: Ancient 20. Abbreviations | 21. Acronyms 22. Derivations 23. Rhymes 24. Anagrams | 25. Bibliography |
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