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1、Thebirthofmodernplastics剑五阅读译文Test2In1907,LeoHendrickBaekeland,aBelgianscientistworkinginNewYork,discoveredandpatentedarevolutionarynewsyntheticmaterial.Hisinvention,whichhenamed'Bakelite',wasofenormoustechnologicalimportance,andeffectivelylaunchedthemodernplasticsindustry.Theterm'plastic
2、'comesfromtheGreekplassein,meaning'tomould'.Someplasticsarederivedfromnaturalsources,somearesemi-synthetic(theresultofchemicalactiononanaturalsubstance),andsomeareentirelysynthetic,thatis,chemicallyengineeredfromtheconstituentsofcoaloroil.Someare'thermoplastic',whichmeansthat,likecandlewa
3、x,theymeltwhenheatedandcanthenbereshaped.Othersare'thermosetting':likeeggs,theycannotreverttotheiroriginalviscousstate,andtheirshapeisthusfixedforever.,Bakelitehadthedistinctionofbeingthefirsttotallysyntheticthermosettingplastic.Thehistoryoftoday'splasticsbeginswiththediscoveryofaseriesof
4、semi-syntheticthermoplasticmaterialsinthemid-nineteenthcentury.Theimpetusbehindthedevelopmentoftheseearlyplasticswasgeneratedbyanumberoffactors-immensetechnologicalprogressinthedomainofchemistry,coupledwithwiderculturalchanges,andthepragmaticneedtofindacceptablesubstitutesfordwindlingsupp
5、liesof'luxury'materialssuchastortoiseshellandivory.Baekeland'sinterestinplasticsbeganin1885when,asayoungchemistrystudentinBelgium,heembarkedonresearchintophenolicresins,thegroupofstickysubstancesproducedwhenphenol(carbolicacid)combineswithanaldehyde(avolatilefluidsimilartoalcohol).Hesoona
6、bandonedthesubject,however,onlyreturningtoitsomeyearslater.By1905hewasawealthyNewYorker,havingrecentlymadehisfortunewiththeinventionofanewphotographicpaper.WhileBaekelandhadbeenbusilyamassingdollars,someadvanceshadbeenmadeinthedevelopmentofplastics.Theyears1899and1900hadseenthepatentingof
7、thefirstsemi-syntheticthermosettingmaterialthatcouldbemanufacturedonanindustrialscale.Inpurelyscientificterms,Baekeland'smajorcontributiontothefieldisnotsomuchtheactualdiscoveryofthematerialtowhichhegavehisname,butratherthemethodbywhichareactionbetweenphenolandforma
