The characters of plastics (2024)
This article provides a technical overview of various types of plastics, comparing their chemical properties to human character traits. It explains the differences between polymers like polyethylene, nylon, and polycarbonate in terms of their strength and practical applications.
Why it matters
Understanding material science helps consumers and engineers make informed decisions about product durability and appropriate use cases for different polymers.
“It’s made of plastic” is a common put-down. Marketers selling higher-end bits made of plastic (like gun parts) try to evade the stigma by calling it “polymer”, but that’s just a stupid euphemism: every plastic is a polymer, though not every polymer is a plastic. The word “polymer” says nothing to indicate that this might be a superior sort of plastic. Yet there are superior sorts; plastics vary widely in their characters. Some analogies between plastic and human characters:
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