This Day in Science History - June 29 - Parkesine

June 28th marks the passing of the man who introduced us to plastic. Alexander Parkes was a British chemist and metallurgist who created the first thermoplastic which he called Parkesine. Parkesine was a nitrocellulose compound that aroused great public interest when it was introduced at the 1862 Grand International Expedition. Parkes established a business to exploit its popularity, but ultimately failed within two years for two reasons. The first, Parkes would reduce quality to make his products less expensive. The second, and probably more important, Parkesine is highly flammable. Consumers did not like cheap plastic products that burned really easily.

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This Day in Science History - June 28 - Emil Erlenmeyer

June 28th is Emil Erlenmeyer's birthday. Erlenmeyer is best known for the easily recognizable chemistry glassware that bears his name. The erlenmeyer flask is a conical based flask with a narrow cylindrical neck. It is commonly used in the same way as a beaker. The conical base allows stirring or swirling while the tapered neck prevents the contents from spilling. Unlike the beaker, an erlenmeyer flask may be sealed with a stopper. Erlenmeyer invented the flask in 1861 while he was a Professor at the Munich Polythechnic School researching the synthesis of organic compounds.

Happy birthday Erlenmeyer! Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.

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This Day in Science History - June 28 - Emil Erlenmeyer

June 28th is Emil Erlenmeyer's birthday. Erlenmeyer is best known for the easily recognizable chemistry glassware that bears his name. The erlenmeyer flask is a conical based flask with a narrow cylindrical neck. It is commonly used in the same way as a beaker. The conical base allows stirring or swirling while the tapered neck prevents the contents from spilling. Unlike the beaker, an erlenmeyer flask may be sealed with a stopper. Erlenmeyer invented the flask in 1861 while he was a Professor at the Munich Polythechnic School researching the synthesis of organic compounds.

Happy birthday Erlenmeyer! Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.

Follow About.com Chemistry on Facebook or Twitter.

View the original article here

This Day in Science History - June 29 - Parkesine

June 28th marks the passing of the man who introduced us to plastic. Alexander Parkes was a British chemist and metallurgist who created the first thermoplastic which he called Parkesine. Parkesine was a nitrocellulose compound that aroused great public interest when it was introduced at the 1862 Grand International Expedition. Parkes established a business to exploit its popularity, but ultimately failed within two years for two reasons. The first, Parkes would reduce quality to make his products less expensive. The second, and probably more important, Parkesine is highly flammable. Consumers did not like cheap plastic products that burned really easily.

Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.

Follow About.com Chemistry on Facebook or Twitter.

View the original article here