Ubiquity is dedicated to helping professionals and informed laymen better imagine and understand the future of computing. Extraordinary Ordinary Things (EOT) is dedicated to bringing to mind truly world-transforming things that have become so embedded in daily life that we scarcely even notice them. These two ideas may seem rather far apart, if not incongruous. In reality, they are quite close together, almost like conjoined twins. Computers today underly virtually everything that makes up the modern world, directly, but most often indirectly, by how they permit commercial, cultural, and scientific ideas to be converted into life-altering products and services. Extraordinary!
Author’s Note
I had certain trepidations about undertaking this topic for fear of being branded an apologist for the plastics industry. I am not an apologist; I am a reporter. However, in recent years, plastics and their uses have become so controversial that no matter what one says about them, it can be—and will be—construed as taking a position for or against them. No matter how hard one tries to be dispassionate.
Please bear this in mind as you read the following text.
Plastic these days is getting a bad rap because of its damage to the environment. Recently published photos of plastic bags and other plastic objects washed up on remote ocean islands have served to reinforce rising critiques against plastic. So have reports of mounting deaths of marine animals that ingest bags and other plastic products thoughtlessly dumped into the world’s oceans. However, using the term “plastic” to describe this unsightly and damaging detritus is to vastly oversimplify the situation, running the risk of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
The fact is, plastic is a generic term covering a wide variety of different types of plastics, made by a wide variety of different manufacturing processes, all with different properties and uses. According to some, plastic (plastics) is so integral to industrial society that banning or greatly reducing its use could undermine the very foundations on which the modern world is built.
Basic Truths about Plastic
I am reluctant even to approach this subject for fear of being overwhelmed. There are so many different types of plastics with so many different uses that anything close to an adequate overview would go well beyond the scope of a short essay. On the other hand, because plastic is so much “at the top of the mind,” ignoring the subject altogether would seem to be a dereliction of duty. Therefore, the following text will be largely devoted to clarifying some basic truths about plastic and dispelling some detrimental misconceptions.
Perhaps the most important basic truth about plastic is that there is no such thing as “plastic” per se because it:
- comes in so many different varieties;
- is fabricated by so many different processes; and
- is used in so many different ways for so many different purposes.
It is therefore more useful (and correct) to talk about “plastics” in the plural rather than “plastic” in the singular. That having been said, what is the origin of the term, either in the singular or in the plural?
In the industrial sense, plastic refers to any synthetic or semi-synthetic material that can be irreversibly deformed (molded) without cracking or shattering into little pieces.
This property explains why plastics are so useful. Starting with a lump of some kind of plastic, you can mold it into innumerable different shapes and sizes for innumerable different uses. And generally, at very low cost.
Chemically, plastics are typically organic polymers (chains of molecules) of high molecular mass, often mixed with other substances to enhance their properties. Today, the overwhelming majority of plastics are derived from non-renewable materials, notably oil (petroleum). However, plastics are also made from renewable materials such as polylactic acid derived from corn (maize) and cellulose derived from cotton.
Given this incredible diversity, there are numerous ways of classifying plastics. However, individual plastics are classified, they all fall into two basic categories:
- Thermoplastic (temporary). Once molded, a thermoplastic can later be melted down and remolded for the same or other uses.
- Thermoset (or thermosetting polymer) (permanent). Once molded, a thermoset cannot later be melted down and remolded for other uses. It must be stored or otherwise disposed of.
Short History of Plastics
Given increasing concern for using renewable materials to prevent environmental degradation, research into the properties and uses of plant-derived plastics, in contrast to those derived from petroleum, is on the rise. In many people’s minds, the terms plastics and synthetic go hand-in-hand; it is often a jarring surprise to learn they can also be derived from plants.
Given the virulent criticism of plastics as being synthetic rather than natural, it is somewhat ironic to note that the first plastics were entirely “natural.” Moreover, humans have been using natural plastics for far longer than one might imagine.
For example, around 1600 B.C., Mesoamericans in Mexico and farther south were using natural rubber to make rubber balls, rubber bands, and rubber figurines. Natural rubber is a form of plastic derived from the Hevea brasiliensis rubber tree.
Medieval craftsmen in Europe made windows for lanterns from translucent slices of animal horn. Animal horn is composed of keratin, a mixed carbon-nitrogen polymer that is also classified as a plastic. Other sources of natural plastics in the Middle Ages included blood proteins and eggs.
Under the influence of the Industrial Revolution (roughly 1760–1840), great strides were made in understanding basic chemical processes, which opened the way for the invention, production, and use of synthetic plastics.
Historically, then, the creation and applications of plastics can be said to have evolved in three phases:
- Use of natural plastics, e.g., animal horn, blood proteins, eggs, rubber, etc.
- Use of chemically-modified natural plastics, e.g., collagen, nitrocellulose, vulcanized rubber, etc.
- Use of totally synthetic plastics, e.g., bakelite, epoxy, polyvinyl chloride, etc.
Parkesine lays claim to being the first fully synthetic plastic. Patented by Alexander Parkes (Birmingham, England) in 1856, its first public showing occurred in 1862 at the Great International Exhibition in London. Parkesine (nitrocellulose) was made by treating cellulose with nitric acid as a solvent. The output of the process could then be dissolved in alcohol and hardened into a transparent elastic material, which in turn could be heated and molded.
While the term parkasine has largely faded from common vocabulary, another now outdated term still seems to find resonance—Bakelite.
Bakelite (polyoxybenzylmethyleneglycolanhydride) was developed by Belgian scientist Leo Hendrix Baekland in 1907 and first patented in 1909. Bakelite was one of the first plastic-like materials to be introduced into the modern world and became popular (if not virtually ubiquitous) because it could be molded and then hardened into virtually any desired shape.
Because it was both heat-resistant and electrically non-conductive, it was an excellent electrical insulator and virtually indispensable for widespread products such as jewelry, kitchenware, pipe stems, radios, telephones, toys, and a panoply of other common, everyday items.
It also became important in the development of several major industries, e.g., the automobile industry, whose cars, trucks, and specialized commercial vehicles virtually changed the shape of the planet.
Among the earliest examples of new plastic polymers beginning to reshape modern life were polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in the 1920s, polyethylene in the 1920s, polystyrene (PS) in the 1930s, etc.
Following the First World War (1914–1918), improvements in chemical technology led to innovations in new forms of plastics, with mass production taking off in the 1940s and 1950s.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) came along at the beginning of the 1940s and was used as a replacement for glass, which gave rise to plastic bottles to replace bulkier, costlier, and more fragile glass bottles.
Polypropylene came into use in the 1950s, as did expanded polystyrene, used for making plastic cups, electrical insulation, and packaging.
And the story goes on. And on. And on.
Plastic and Culture
Given its pervasive importance, it is rather surprising that plastic seems to be little represented in culture. There are no great paintings, poems, sculptures, etc. about plastic or plastics. It is also very little represented in music. Indeed, to my mind, the only musical reference to plastic of any consequence is in the 1966 hit pop song “Substitute” by The Who. It epitomized the general feeling about plastic at the time, and to a certain extent still today.
The refrain is “I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth.” This is a play on the popular idiom “to be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth,” which symbolizes culture, sophistication, and wealth. Being born with a plastic spoon in one’s mouth, as in the song, symbolizes exactly the opposite, i.e., lack of culture, sophistication, and wealth.
In part, the lyrics are:
Stanza 1
You think we look pretty good together
You think my shoes are made of leather
But I'm a substitute for another guy
I look pretty tall, but my heels are high
The simple things you see are all complicated
I look pretty young, but I'm just back-dated, yeah
Refrain 1
(Substitute) Your lies for fact
(Substitute) I see right through your plastic mac
(Substitute) I look all white, but my dad was black
(Substitute) My fine-looking suit is really made out of sack
Stanza 2
I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth
The north side of my town faced east
And the east was facing south
And now you dare to look me in the eye
Those crocodile tears are what you cry
It's a genuine problem, you won't try
To work it out at all, just pass it by, pass it by
Refrain 2
(Substitute) Me for him
(Substitute) My coke for gin
(Substitute) You for my mum
(Substitute) At least I'll get my washing done
Stanza 3
I'm a substitute for another guy
I look pretty tall but my heels are high
The simple things you see are all complicated
I look pretty young, but I'm just backdated, yeah
Refrain 3
I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth
The north side of my town faced east
And the east was facing south
And now you dare to look me in the eye
Those crocodile tears are what you cry
It's a genuine problem, you won't try
To work it out at all, just pass it by, pass it by
(Substitute) Me for him
(Substitute) My coke for gin
(Substitute) You for my mum
(Substitute) At least I'll get my washing done
(Substitute) Your lies for fact
(Substitute) I see right through your plastic mac
(Substitute) I look all white, but my dad was black
(Substitute) My fine-looking suit is really made out of sack
Quotations about Plastic
A traditional feature of these “Extraordinary Ordinary Things” essays has always been a potpourri of quotations about the extraordinary ordinary thing under discussion. The justification for this was ”You can often learn a lot about the impact of an invention on society by listening to what people have said about its evolution and integration into daily life.” This does not seem to be the case with plastic.
Given its incredible impact on the world and how we live in it, there must have been a plethora of laudatory comments about it. However, in recent times, all of this has gone by the wayside with focus today being virtually solely on plastic as detrimental and a palpable threat to the future of the planet. In numerous internet searches, the only positive quotation I could find about plastic was a line from the classic Hollywood film “The Graduate” starring Dustin Hoffman: “Plastics. There’s a great future in plastics… .”
Plastic and Computing
Certain optimists like to imagine that increasing computing power and increasing use of computers in knowledgeable hands could eventually resolve, or at least make a significant contribution to solving, the world’s panoply of problems, including the multitudinous detriments of plastics to the environment. There is certainly some justification for such optimism. However, the irony that computers are intimately dependent on plastics cannot be ignored.
The first computers were as big as a house, weighed tons, and ran on vacuum tubes. Plastics were of little or no consequence. However, with the invention of the transistor in 1947, this began to change. Computers began to become increasingly smaller. And more importantly, less energy-intensive and considerably more reliable. They also began using more and more plastics. Today, computers, in the form of big mainframes, stand-alone computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc., are everywhere. And their numbers and uses seem destined to grow.
One of the first significant uses of plastics in computing was to cover metallic external parts of mainframes. Most people just are not partial to electric shock.
Once the transistor, and then the integrated circuit (chip), made their appearance, computers could be made significantly smaller and less costly. Today, billions of people around the world have computers, the most popular version being the so-called “smartphone,” of which the telephone function is now only a minor aspect of how such devices are used.
Design, mass production, and mass distribution of modern computers are heavily dependent on plastics.
On his podcast “The History of Computing,” computer scientist Charles Edge (1975–2024) delved into “The History of Plastics in Computing,” which aired July 5, 2021.
[The transcript reproduced from his site has been slightly edited.]
Minicomputers were smaller, but by the time of the PDP-11, there were plastic toggles and a plastic front on the chassis . . . By the time the personal computer started to go mainstream, the full case was made of injection molding.
The future was here. And much of that future involved injection molding machines, now more and more common. Many a mainframe was encased in metal but with hard plastics we could build faceplates out of plastic. The IBM mainframes had lots of blinking lights recessed into holes in plastic with metal switches sticking out. Turns out people get shocked less when the whole thing isn’t metal.
The minicomputers were smaller, but by the time of the PDP-11 there were plastic toggles and a plastic front on the chassis. The Altair 8800 ended up looking a lot like that, but bringing that technology to the hobbyist. By the time the personal computer started to go mainstream, the full case was made of injection molding.
The things that went inside computers were increasingly plastic as well. Going back to the early days of mechanical computing, gears were made out of metal. But tubes were often mounted on circuits screwed to wooden boards. Albert Hanson had worked on foil conductors that were laminated to insulating boards going back to 1903 but Charles Ducas patented electroplating circuit patterns in 1927 and Austrian Paul Eisler invented printed circuits for radio sets in the mid-1930s. John Sargrove then figured out he could spray metal onto plastic boards made of Bakelite in the late 1930s and its uses expanded to proximity fuzes in World War II and then Motorola helped bring them into broader consumer electronics in the early 1950s.
Printed circuit boards then moved to screen printing metallic paint onto various surfaces and Harry Rubinstein patented printing components, which helped pave the way for integrated circuits.
Board lamination and etching were added to the process and conductive inks used in the creation might be etched copper, plated substrates, or even silver inks as are used in RFID tags. We’ve learned over time to make things easier and with more precise machinery we were able to build smaller and smaller boards, chips, and eventually 3d printed electronics . . . .
Doug Engelbart’s first mouse was wooden but by the time Steve Jobs insisted they be mass produceable, they had been plastic for Englebart and then the Alto.
Computer keyboards had evolved out of the flexowriter and so become plastic as well. Even the springs that caused keys to bounce back up were eventually replaced with plastic and rubberized materials in different configurations.
Plastic is great for insulating electronics, they are poor conductors of heat, they’re light, they’re easy to mold, they’re hardy, synthetics require less than 5 percent of the oil we use, and they are recyclable… .
Edge goes on to declare that “the future of plastics in computer designs holds exciting possibilities.” Among which, he lists:
- Biodegradable and sustainable plastics
Researchers are actively developing plastics that break down naturally over time, reducing their impact on ecosystems. Designed for industrial composting facilities, compostable plastics offer another avenue for eco-friendly products. - Recycling
Chemical recycling methods are gaining prominence, breaking plastics into original components for versatile reuse. - Integration with industrial design
3D printing using plastic materials enables rapid prototyping and customization. - Plastic versatility
The versatility of plastics, combined with advanced manufacturing techniques, offers cost-effective mass production.
In summary, plastics will continue to shape computer designs, balancing functionality, sustainability, and technological advancement.
By way of conclusion, the Edge makes this somewhat bittersweet comment:
Here’s the thing, half of plastics are single-purpose. Much of it is packaging like containers and wrappers. But can you imagine life without the 380 million tons of plastics the world produces a year? Just look around right now. Couldn’t tell you how many parts of this microphone, computer, and all the cables and adapters are made of it… . But it’s not the plastics that are such a problem. It’s the wasteful rampant consumerism. When I take out my recycling I can’t help but think that what goes in the recycling versus compost versus garbage is as much a symbol of who I want to be as what I actually end up eating and relying on to live.
And yet, I remain hopeful for the world in that these discoveries can actually end up bringing us back into harmony with the world around us without reverting to luddites and walking back all of these amazing developments like we see in the science fiction dystopian futures.
