General properties of plastics

Plastic is non-reactive:

• Metals like iron get rusted when left exposed to moisture and air. But plastics do not react with water and air. They are not corroded easily.
• That is why they are used to store various kinds of material, including many chemicals.

Plastic is light, strong and durable:

• Plastic is very light, strong, durable and can be molded into different shapes and sizes; therefore, it is used for various purposes.

Low cost:

• Plastics are generally cheaper than metals. So they are widely used.

Plastics are poor conductors:

• Plastics are poor conductors of heat and electricity. Therefore electrical wires have plastic covering, and handles of screw drivers are made of plastic.

Thermal conductivity:

• Plastics are poor conductors of heat, due to which plastics are used for making:

1. Handles of cooking vessels
2. Containers used in microwaves

Effect of flame:

• Most plastics catch fire easily.

Uses of plastics:

Use of plastic in health-care industry:

• Plastics find extensive use in the health-care industry.
• Some examples of their use are the packaging of tablets, threads used for stitching wounds, syringes, doctors’ gloves and a number of medical instruments.

Plastic cookware:

• Special plastic cookware is used in microwave ovens for cooking food. In microwave ovens, the heat cooks the food but does not affect the plastic vessel.

Teflon:

• Tetrafluoroethylene units link to form a polymer Polytetrafluoroethylene which is known as Teflon. It is used form making non-stick cooking pans and other cook wares.

Fire-proof plastics:

• Although synthetic fibres catch fire easily, it is interesting to know that the uniforms of firemen have coating of melamine plastic to make them flame resistant.