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Did You Know?

PVC is finding increased use as a composite for the production of accessories or housings for portable electronics. Through a fusing process, PVC can adopt cleaning properties possessed by materials such as wool or cotton which can absorb dust particles and bacteria.

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Plastics, light and inexpensive, have had a big impact in the field of technology. Long thought to be insulators and non-conductors of electricity, some plastic materials have been revealed as semi-conductors that can be used in transistors. These new transistors are more flexible and easier to manufacture, leading to the development of lighter, thinner laptops.

Computer screens contain a “backplane,” traditionally made of glass, with the electronics that drive the display. Glass makes the Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) rigid and fragile. Big industrial names, such as Philips, have joined with other resource centres to develop technologies to permit the use of plastic in backplanes, making them suitable for organic light-emitting displays (OLED). Ultimately, the end will be flexible full colour video displays.

The success of plastics as semi-conductors also means that cell phones, iPods, and MP3 players will soon remain unbroken if accidentally dropped.

For more information on plastics in technology visit the following links:

www.ptonline.com
www.americanchemistry.com/s_plastics/sec_content.asp?CID=1081&DID=4235