What is plastic?
You can't ignore it these days. Several times a day everyone comes into contact with the material plastic, but what exactly is it?
Plastic is a synthetically manufactured material, not a natural substance. It is developed through a chemical process. It is created from chemical compounds by non-natural chemical processes. The material is composed of bulky molecules created by synthesis.
Is synthetic plastic?
No synthetic is not the same as plastic. Plastic is in fact a synthetic, but not every plastic is also synthetic.
What is the difference between plastic and synthetic?
Plastics can actually be broken down into three groups. These are: thermoplastics, thermosets and elastomers. All three types differ in solubility, melting point and structure.
Plastic is actually a synthehtic that can be used to create a shape under certain pressure through heating. This is therefore where thermoplastics are referred to.
Unlike thermoplastics, thermosets remain hard when heated. Elastomers are elastic plastics. Thermosets and elastomes both fall under plastic, but are not plastics.
