Beyond Bakelite

Download or read book Beyond Bakelite written by Joris Mercelis and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2020-03-24 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The changing relationships between science and industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, illustrated by the career of the “father of plastics.” The Belgian-born American chemist, inventor, and entrepreneur Leo Baekeland (1863–1944) is best known for his invention of the first synthetic plastic—his near-namesake Bakelite—which had applications ranging from electrical insulators to Art Deco jewelry. Toward the end of his career, Baekeland was called the “father of plastics”—given credit for the establishment of a sector to which many other researchers, inventors, and firms inside and outside the United States had also made significant contributions. In Beyond Bakelite, Joris Mercelis examines Baekeland's career, using it as a lens through which to view the changing relationships between science and industry on both sides of the Atlantic in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He gives special attention to the intellectual property strategies and scientific entrepreneurship of the period, making clear their relevance to contemporary concerns. Mercelis describes the growth of what he terms the “science-industry nexus” and the developing interdependence of science and industry. After examining Baekeland's emergence as a pragmatic innovator and leader in scientific circles, Mercelis analyzes Baekeland's international and domestic IP strategies and his efforts to reform the US patent system; his dual roles as scientist and industrialist; the importance of theoretical knowledge to the science-industry nexus; and the American Bakelite companies' research and development practices, technically oriented sales approach, and remuneration schemes. Mercelis argues that the expansion and transformation of the science-industry nexus shaped the careers and legacies of Baekeland and many of his contemporaries.

Download or read book Historical Scientific Instruments in Contemporary Education written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-11-15 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When science’s “black boxes” are pried open, its workings become accessible. Like time-travellers into history but grounded in today’s cultures, learners interact directly with authentic instruments and replicas. Chapters describe educational experiences sparked through collaborations interrelating museum, school and university.

Download or read book Green-Based Nanocomposite Materials and Applications written by Felipe Avalos Belmontes and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-01-01 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a review of preparation methods for environmentally friendly nanocomposite materials. It describes the combination of biodegradable and biocompatible polymer matrices with nanoparticles, leading to finished products preferably prepared by sustainable methods. The chapters also describe how the addition of synthetic or non-biodegradable particles can influence the properties of the final products. This book presents a general overview of the process from the preparation to the final applications of green nanocomposites. In addition, the book also details the trends, challenges, and prospects of this type of composites. The content can be divided into two sections. The first one presents a brief introduction about the importance of keeping the environment free of non-degradable pollutants. It also describes fundamentals, trends, and general applications of green materials. The second section focuses on the description of some of the green-based materials most used nowadays and other innovative materials, just like elastomers of natural origin. The book comprises the reintegration of these materials into the environment, followed by some biomedical, biological, and energy storage applications.

Download or read book American Patent Law written by Robert P. Merges and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-02-09 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Students and established scholars of intellectual property law often look for historical context when trying to understand the development and present-day contours of IP rules and systems. American Patent Law supplies this context, offering readers a comprehensive account of the evolution of the US patent system and patent doctrine beginning in 1790. From the technologies for harvesting wood and shoemaking in the earliest periods to computer software and biotechnology of the present, each chapter of the book covers the characteristic technologies of each historical era. The book also describes how businesspeople in each era acquired and enforced patents and used patents as the foundation of various business arrangements. This book is a landmark in the history of technologies, the US patent system, and the way private actors have deployed patents across American history.

Download or read book Beyond Bakelite written by Joris Mercelis and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2020-03-24 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The changing relationships between science and industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, illustrated by the career of the “father of plastics.” The Belgian-born American chemist, inventor, and entrepreneur Leo Baekeland (1863–1944) is best known for his invention of the first synthetic plastic—his near-namesake Bakelite—which had applications ranging from electrical insulators to Art Deco jewelry. Toward the end of his career, Baekeland was called the “father of plastics”—given credit for the establishment of a sector to which many other researchers, inventors, and firms inside and outside the United States had also made significant contributions. In Beyond Bakelite, Joris Mercelis examines Baekeland's career, using it as a lens through which to view the changing relationships between science and industry on both sides of the Atlantic in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He gives special attention to the intellectual property strategies and scientific entrepreneurship of the period, making clear their relevance to contemporary concerns. Mercelis describes the growth of what he terms the “science-industry nexus” and the developing interdependence of science and industry. After examining Baekeland's emergence as a pragmatic innovator and leader in scientific circles, Mercelis analyzes Baekeland's international and domestic IP strategies and his efforts to reform the US patent system; his dual roles as scientist and industrialist; the importance of theoretical knowledge to the science-industry nexus; and the American Bakelite companies' research and development practices, technically oriented sales approach, and remuneration schemes. Mercelis argues that the expansion and transformation of the science-industry nexus shaped the careers and legacies of Baekeland and many of his contemporaries.

Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Plastics written by Genevieve Godin and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-09-17 with total page 800 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Plastics investigates the archaeology of the contemporary world through the lens of its most distinguishing and problematic material. Plastics are ubiquitous and have been so for nearly three generations since they became widely used in the early 1950s. Plastics will persist for millennia, their legacies as toxic heritage being felt deep into the future. In this book – comprising 32 original, at times disturbing, and critically engaged contributions – scholars from archaeology and other cognate disciplines explore plastics from a number of different angles and perspectives. Together these contributions highlight the dilemma that plastics present: their usefulness on the one hand, and the threats they present to environmental health on the other. The volume also explores the lessons that archaeologists can learn from plastics, about episodes of mass production, consumption and toxicity in the past, and also – importantly – about the future. This important and timely collection will therefore be of interest to all archaeologists irrespective of their period of study, or their geographical focus, and to students of archaeology and cultural heritage. It will also be relevant for researchers and students in other fields of study that focus on plastics and their environmental and social impacts. Ultimately, this book concerns the contemporary world and the impact of people upon it, through the archaeological lens.

Download or read book Dream Car written by Dimitry Anastakis and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2024-03-26 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dream Car tells the story of entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin’s fantastical 1970s-era Safety Vehicle-1 (SV1), audaciously launched during a tumultuous breakpoint in postwar history. The tale of the sexy-yet-safe SV1 reveals the influence of automobiles on ideas about the future, technology, entrepreneurship, risk, safety, showmanship, politics, sex, gender, business, and the state, as well as the history of the auto industry’s birth, decline, and rebirth. Written as an “open road,” the book invites readers to travel a narrative arc that unfolds chronologically and thematically. Dream Car’s seven chapters have been structured so that they can be read in any order, determined by whichever theme each reader finds most interesting. The book also includes a musical playlist of car songs from the era and songs about the SV1 itself.