Today, plastics are everywhere. All of this plastic originated from one small object— that isn’t even made of plastic.
如今,塑料无处不在。 这些塑料都源于一个小物体—— 一个甚至都不是由塑料组成的物体。
For centuries, billiard balls were made of ivory from elephant tusks. But when excessive hunting caused elephant populations to decline in the 19th century, billiard balls makers began to look for alternatives, offering huge rewards. So in 1863 an American named John Wesley Hyatt took up the challenge. Over the next five years, he invented a new material called celluloid, made from cellulose, a compound found in wood and straw.
几个世纪以来, 台球都是由象牙制成的。 但在 19 世纪, 当过度捕杀导致大象数量减少, 台球制作者开始重赏求材, 寻找新的替代物。 于是在 1863 年,一位美国人 名为约翰 · 卫斯理 · 凯悦 (John Wesley Hyatt)接受了挑战。 随后五年里,他发明了 一种新的材料叫赛璐珞, 由纤维素制成, 一种存在于木头和稻草中的化合物 。
Hyatt soon discovered celluloid couldn’t solve the billiard ball problem–– the material wasn’t heavy enough and didn’t bounce quite right. But it could be tinted and patterned to mimic more expensive materials like coral, tortoiseshell, amber, and mother-of-pearl. He had created what became known as the first plastic.
凯悦很快就发现赛璐珞 不能解决台球的问题—— 其材质并不够重, 球弹跳得也不太对。 但赛璐珞可以上色和印图案, 去模仿更加昂贵的材料,比如珊瑚, 玳瑁壳,琥珀和珍珠母。 他制造了我们所知道的塑料。
The word ‘plastic’ can describe any material made of polymers, which are just the large molecules consisting of the same repeating subunit. This includes all human-made plastics, as well as many of the materials found in living things. But in general, when people refer to plastics, they’re referring to synthetic materials. The unifying feature of these is that they start out soft and malleable and can be molded into a particular shape.
“塑料”一词用来形容 由聚合物制成的任何材质, 即由重复的亚基组成的大分子。 这包含了所有人造的塑料, 以及很多生物中发现的物质。 但通常,当大家提及塑料, 他们指的是合成材料。 这些材料的共性就是 起初柔软且可塑性高, 可以塑造成特定的形状。
Despite taking the prize as the first official plastic, celluloid was highly flammable, which made production risky. So inventors began to hunt for alternatives. In 1907 a chemist combined phenol— a waste product of coal tar— and formaldehyde, creating a hardy new polymer called bakelite. Bakelite was much less flammable than celluloid and the raw materials used to make it were more readily available.
除了赛璐珞赢得了 第一个正式的塑料荣誉, 赛璐珞是高度易燃品, 这给生产过程带来风险, 所以发明者开始去寻找替代品。 在 1907 年,一个化学家结合石碳酸, ——一种煤焦油的产物—— 与甲醛,创造出一种 坚固的新型化合物叫酚醛树脂。 相比赛璐珞,酚醛树脂不太易燃, 以及组成酚醛树脂的原材料更容易得到。
Bakelite was only the beginning. In the 1920s, researchers first commercially developed polystyrene, a spongy plastic used in insulation. Soon after came polyvinyl chloride, or vinyl, which was flexible yet hardy. Acrylics created transparent, shatter-proof panels that mimicked glass. And in the 1930s nylon took centre stage— a polymer designed to mimic silk, but with many times its strength. Starting in 1933, polyethylene became one of the most versatile plastics, still used today to make everything from grocery bags, to shampoo bottles, to bulletproof vests.
酚醛树脂仅仅只是开始。 20 年代,研究者首次 开发商业的聚苯乙烯, 一种用于隔热的海绵似的的塑料。 不久后,灵活且坚硬的 聚氯乙烯或乙烯基诞生了。 丙烯酸创造了透明、 抗震板,仿似玻璃。 而在 1930 年尼龙成为了新焦点—— 一种模仿绸缎丝绸而设计的, 却倍加坚韧的聚合物。 自从 1933 年,聚乙烯 成为了最多功能的塑料之一, 至今,许多东西仍然用它制成, 从购物袋,到洗发液的瓶子, 还有防弹背心。 新的制造技术伴随着材料的兴起。
New manufacturing technologies accompanied this explosion of materials. The invention of a technique called injection-moulding made it possible to insert melted plastics into molds of any shape, where they would rapidly harden. This created possibilities for products in new varieties and shapes— and a way to inexpensively and rapidly produce plastics at scale. Scientists hoped this economical new material would make items that once had been unaffordable accessible to more people.
有个叫做注塑成型的技术创新, 它可以在任何形状的 模具里面注入融化的塑料, 然后迅速成形。 这技术可以生产出 各种各样形状的产品, 这也成为廉价、快速, 大批量生产塑料的方式。 科学家们希望这种经济实惠的新材料 所制造出的产品,能让原本 高价的产品供更多人使用。 然而,塑料运用在二战期间。
Instead, plastics were pushed into service in World War Two. During the war, plastic production in the United States quadrupled. Soldiers wore new plastic helmet liners and water-resistant vinyl raincoats. Pilots sat in cockpits made of plexiglass, a shatterproof plastic, and relied on parachutes made of resilient nylon.
在战争期间, 美国的塑料生产量翻了四倍。 士兵们戴着新的塑料头盔衬垫 以及防水的乙烯基雨衣。 飞行员坐在由树脂玻璃—— 一种防碎的塑料——制成的驾驶舱, 并依靠着由弹性的 尼龙制成的降落伞。 此后,从战争时期崛起的塑料制造商
Afterwards, plastic manufacturing companies that had sprung up during wartime turned their attention to consumer products. Plastics began to replace other materials like wood, glass, and fabric in furniture, clothing, shoes, televisions, and radios. Versatile plastics opened up possibilities for packaging— mainly designed to keep food and other products fresh for longer. Suddenly, there were plastic garbage bags, stretchy plastic wrap, squeezable plastic bottles, takeaway cartons, and plastic containers for fruit, vegetables, and meat.
把重心转移到消费品。 塑料开始取代其他的材料, 比如木材,玻璃和布料等用来 制造家具,衣服,鞋子,电视和收音机。 多功能的塑料为包装业带来新的可能, 主要用于延长食品和其他产品保质期。 突然间,出现了 塑料垃圾袋,弹性保鲜膜, 可挤压的塑料瓶,外卖盒,
Within just a few decades, this multifaceted material ushered in what became known as the “plastics century.” While the plastics century brought convenience and cost-effectiveness, it also created staggering environmental problems. Many plastics are made of nonrenewable resources. And plastic packaging was designed to be single-use, but some plastics take centuries to decompose, creating a huge build up of waste.
装水果,蔬菜和肉的塑料盒。 就在这短短的几十年, 这个多功能的材料 迎来了大家所熟知的 “塑料世纪”。 尽管塑料世纪带来了 便利以及经济实惠, 它也造成了巨大的环境问题。 很多塑料是由不可再生 资源所制成的。 我们将塑料包装设计成一次性产品。 但是,一些塑料甚至 要花好几世纪才能降解,
This century we’ll have to concentrate our innovations on addressing those problems— by reducing plastic use, developing biodegradable plastics, and finding new ways to recycle existing plastic.
这导致了很多的废物堆积。 这个世纪, 我们得注重创新的解决办法, 通过减少塑料使用, 发展可生物降解的塑料,