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Art
The
artist can choose from a variety of types of paint,
such as oils, water colour or the quick-drying acrylic.
Colour comes from pigments,
which are obtained from natural inorganic materials or synthetic organic
chemicals. Water colours employ transparent pigments. Gouache is a water
colour but with an added white opaque pigment such as titanium
dioxide. Brushes are in a natural bristle or fur such as sable, or
in a synthetic fibre such as nylon.
Sculptors, as well as using clay, can cast in plaster,
ciment fondu (an alumina cement),
"fibreglass" (glass-reinforced
polyester) or epoxy resin.
Modern sculpture also makes use of other synthetic polymers, for example
acrylic sheet or polyurethane
foam.
Fitness
Centre
Walk
into a fitness centre nowadays, and you are surrounded by a whole range
of equipment for punishing the body into shape. A typical treadmill will
have its belt constructed from several layers of synthetic elastomer,
the softest at the top for cushioning the runner's step. Its steel frame,
and that of other items such as exercise bikes and body exercisers, may
have an epoxy powder-coat finish, to provide a tough surface to resist
scratching and chipping. Other panels are in a strong ABS
polymer or phenolic resin.
Moulded nylon is used for the
pulleys on exercisers. For the seats on bikes and rowing machines, soft
foam from several different polymers can be used, in a cover of PVC
or polyurethane. Hand
weights are of steel, dipped in PVC
or neoprene.
Music
Because
people have enjoyed music for centuries, instruments have traditionally
been made from natural materials. The use of synthetic chemicals now allows
many instruments to be manufactured with components that give greater
reliability, or avoid unacceptable environmental practices, whilst retaining
the essential character of the instrument. For instance, white piano keys,
instead of requiring ivory from elephants' tusks, are now moulded from
a hard synthetic polymer, specially formulated to simulate ivory. The
main outer case of the piano can be in high-gloss polyester
finish instead of wood. Some guitar strings are in nylon
instead of animal gut. Drum skins can be in a synthetic material such
as polyurethane instead
of calf skin. And woodwind instruments like the clarinet can be produced
in materials such as phenolic
resin instead of rare ebony hardwood. Nylon
is also used in moulded form for items such as pegs and pulleys, and for
the tips of drum sticks. Much music is now created with electronic technology,
which itself requires special chemicals. The swirling mist that provides
added atmosphere at rock concerts comes from dry
ice.
Snooker,
Pool and Billiards
Not
a lot of people know that the game of billiards was connected with the
earliest development of the plastics industry in the 1860s. Until then,
all the best billiard balls were made from ivory, taken from elephants'
tusks. A US company offered a large prize for development of an acceptable
synthetic substitute. One outcome was celluloid,
a form of cellulose nitrate
and one of the very first plastics. Snooker and billiard balls are now
made from specially formulated thermosetting resins. Many modern cues
are a combination of woods or spliced with a synthetic material such as
glass-reinforced polyester.
The tables use a hard formulation of synthetic rubber
in the cushions, with a durable cloth of nylon.
Watching
Television
The
pictures on a TV screen are generated by an electron
gun in the back of the tube, which receives video signals from the tuner.
A beam of electrons, directed by a magnetic coil to create the video image,
strikes the back of the TV screen, and this activates a phosphor
coating to generate light and produce the picture. A colour tube contains
three electron guns (red, green and blue) which activate corresponding
strips or dots of phosphor on the screen. Electronic components rely on
silicon chips, while
telecommunications are making growing use of optical fibres. The TV set
has an outer casing which may be of ABS,
and other polymers such as polyethylene
are used for making numerous components.
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