Polyethylene
Polietileno
- Date
- 1933–1939 · confidence high
- Place
- Northwich, Cheshire, England (ICI Winnington)
- Credited to
- Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson (ICI, 1933); Michael Perrin (reproducible process, 1935); production 1939
- People
- 👤 Eric Fawcett1927–2000👤 Michael Perrin1905–1988
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
High-pressure polymer of ethylene, lightweight and an exceptional insulator. Its first use was insulating airborne radar cables; today it is the most produced plastic in the world.
Hans von Pechmann obtained traces in 1898 without recognising its value.
What it led to
- Airborne microwave radar
- Plastic bags, packaging and bottles
- Global plastic pollution
Built on
- Polymers as covalent macromolecules (Staudinger)1920-1922
- High-pressure chemistry (Haber-Bosch)
- Staudinger's macromolecular theory
Made possible
- Tupperware1946
- Tetra Pak carton and aseptic packaging1951-1963
- Disposable diaper (Pampers)1961
- Plastic bag
- Centimetric radar
- High-density polyethylene (Ziegler, 1953)