Celluloid. History of invention and production

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HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, OBJECTS AROUND US
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Celluloid. History of invention and production

The history of technology, technology, objects around us

Directory / The history of technology, technology, objects around us

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Celluloid (from cellulose, French cellulose from lat. cellula "cell") is a plastic based on cellulose nitrate (coloxylin) containing a plasticizer (dibutyl phthalate, castor or vaseline oil, synthetic camphor) and a dye.

Celluloid is processed by hot stamping, pressing, mechanical processing. It was used for the manufacture of film and photographic films, tablets, rulers, cases of musical instruments - harmonicas, various haberdashery goods, toys, etc. An almost indispensable material for the manufacture of table tennis balls. A significant drawback of celluloid is its high flammability, as a result of which its use in industry has been significantly reduced.

Celluloid
Film

In 1855, British metallurgist Alexander Parkes discovered a new substance based on nitrocellulose dissolved in ethanol. For the mass production of a new substance, which Parkes gave the name "Parkesine" (Parkesine), in 1866 he founded the Parkesine Company. Two years later, the company discontinued production due to its low quality, caused by Parks' desire to reduce costs.

A solid mixture of nitrocellulose and camphor was created by John Wesley Hyatt and registered under the trademark Celluloid in 1870.

Now, when almost every person can pick up a cue and play billiards, it's hard for us to imagine that just a century and a half ago it was an elitist and inaccessible entertainment for most. The fact is that there was only one, very expensive material for the manufacture of billiard balls - ivory. One resourceful assistant printer changed the situation, at the same time laying the foundation for the history of thermoplastics, which played (and still play) a huge role in the history of our civilization.

In 1845, German-born Swiss chemist Christian Schönbein discovered pyroxylin, a nitrocellulose. Legend has it that he spilled nitric acid on a cotton apron and, deciding to dry it on the stove, witnessed the explosive combustion. Be that as it may, nitrocellulose soon found its use in the pharmacy collodion solution, which was intended for sealing small wounds and scratches. The first to think of using collodion for other purposes was the British inventor Alexander Parks.

After noticing that it formed a thin elastic film after drying, Parkes patented it for making waterproof clothing. In 1862, at the Great Exhibition in London, Parkes presented buttons and other products from a material called "parkesine", which was obtained from a solution of nitrocellulose after the solvent had evaporated on heating. When hot, parquezine could be shaped into any shape. The public showed interest, and in 1866 Parkes founded a company for the production of parquezine ... and two years later went bankrupt, having not achieved an acceptable quality of the material.

In 1863, 23-year-old American printer assistant John Wesley Hyatt, who already had two inventions - sharpeners for knives and scissors, became interested in an ad in the newspaper: the largest American manufacturer of billiard balls, Phelan and Collander, promised $ 10 to anyone who find an acceptable substitute for ivory. Hyatt knew next to nothing about chemistry, but accepted the challenge and began experimenting with mixing shellac, sawdust, scraps of paper, and more. Already in 000, he received the first patent for his material and, together with his brother who helped him, founded the Hyatt Billiard Ball Company.

However, his billiard balls very remotely resembled ivory. But one day in a printing shop, he drew attention to a bottle of dried collodion, noting its consistency and hardness. He tried coating his balls with a mixture of collodion and bone dust, and made a few more improvements to make the balls more round. And in 1869, still acting by trial and error, he added camphor, a substance extracted from camphor laurel, to collodion.

Celluloid
Billiard ball

The resulting material imitated almost perfectly ivory and also turned out to be thermoplastic - in fact, it was the world's first semi-synthetic thermoplastic, called celluloid. History is silent about whether Hyatt received the promised prize, but the elephants were definitely grateful to the inventor.

From celluloid began to make not only billiard balls, but also buttons, dentures, checkers and much more.

Author: S.Apresov

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