No photograph is shown for this exhibition. The museum displays an image only where it can show the object honestly.
About this date
Leo Baekeland announced Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic, in 1907 and patented it in 1909. Celluloid, a semi-synthetic plastic, dates from the 1860s.
About credit
Baekeland created the first wholly synthetic plastic. Earlier plastics were made by modifying natural materials.
Chapter II
The world before
Life before Plastics (Bakelite)
Objects were made from wood, metal, glass, ceramics, rubber, horn or shellac, each with limits.
II
The human achievement
How it came about
Baekeland combined phenol and formaldehyde under heat and pressure, giving a hard resin that could be moulded and would not burn or melt. It was used for electrical parts, radios, telephones and jewellery.
III
Understanding the invention
How it works
Plastics (Bakelite), explained in two steps.
01
Step 01 of 02
Long molecular chains
Small molecules link into networks, forming a rigid solid.
Long molecular chains
Thermosetting
IV
The transformation
What changed for humanity
Everyday objects
Cheap moulded goods filled homes.
Environment
Plastics do not readily decompose, and plastic waste is now a major global issue.
Plastics made light, cheap, mouldable products possible, from telephones to packaging, and now pose serious waste problems.
V
Before and after
Life before and after Plastics (Bakelite)
Before
Carved or cast from wood or metal.
After
Moulded in seconds in a press.
On larger screens, drag the divider (or use the arrow keys) to give more room to the world before or after.
VI
Its legacy
What came after
MHI 076
Plastics (Bakelite)
Beyond the collection
Modern polymers
Nylon, polyethylene and polystyrene followed.
Beyond the collection
Electronics
Insulating plastics are used in every device.
VII
Human stories
The people and the moments
A man known for a photographic paper
Baekeland first became wealthy from Velox photographic paper, which he sold to Eastman Kodak for $750,000 in 1899.
Where accounts differ, this museum follows the documented record and says so.
