Today marks the date of birth of Stephanie Kwolek, the US chemist who discovered the widely used polymer Kevlar. She also developed the nylon rope trick, in which nylon can be produced in a beaker at room temperature – a demonstration which is still used in classrooms today. In addition to this she is the to date the only woman to have been awarded DuPont’s Lavoisier Medal for outstanding contributions.
This graphic takes a quick look at the structure of Kevlar, and a selection from its impressive range of applications. To read more about Kwolek and Kevlar, check out the previous post on the site here.
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