Brief History of Nylon: Discovery, Progression and Uses

During WWII Nylon proved to be a vital asset to military operations, contributing to supplies in tires, clothes and weather resistant ropes or tents. What made nylon so important was its anti-fungal, anti-corrosion properties that worked perfect for soldiers in not so perfect conditions. The material itself could be also used to protect ammunition or food from the elements. This attribute of nylon still plays out in today's society in similar applications. The material is used to protect fresh meat products from water or bacteria and is also implemented for a similar purpose in shoes and upholstery.

The practical uses of nylon go on and on into almost every aspect of western life. Wallace Carothers and other researchers at DuPont realized the importance and versatility of nylon and took the initiative to patent the word 'nylon'- an acronym with a debated history- in order to prevent imitations of the breakthrough. After some initial trouble marketing the material and obtaining patents, nylon finally took off. It took over 3 years for the announcement to be given, naturally held secret by engineers and workers at DuPont. The Commissione Centrale Materiali e Tecniche in Italy provides a press release of how exciting the news was at the time:

"Man's very first synthetic fiber, stronger than steel, fine as a spider's web, more elastic than any of the common natural fibers, splendidly shiny and due to be marketed with the commercial name of nylon, was presented by Dr. Stine, a DuPont vice president, at the New York World Fair on 27 October 1938."

Nylon production and consumption took 2 years or so to catch on, only being sold successfully at retailers for women's garments- but by 1949 the CCMT estimate that American production of nylon had jumped to 25,000 tons annually. Nylon has since become such a normal part of our lives, it's hard to notice it's even there. No other synthetic material has contributed so much to so many different products that make up day-to-day worldwide life. The same material used to stop a bullet is the same that makes for comfortable clothing. The malleable, strong, soft and unique material is still just as integral to America as the day it was first produced and as engineers and scientists continue to mix, merge or separate compounds coupled with new technological breakthroughs, there doesn't seem to be a cap on where nylon can go.