Site of the Day for Monday, March 6, 2006 A Short History of Manufactured Fibers Today's web page, from the American Fiber Manufacturers Association, offers a concise guide extolling the history and virtues of manmade fibers. Gentle Subscribers wondering about the cellulose and petrochemical composition of many of their garments will find an easy review of the manufactured materials which have come to dominate the textile industry in the past hundred years. "A mere century ago, rayon -- the first manufactured fiber -- was developed. The secrets of fiber chemistry for countless applications had begun to emerge. ... Manufactured fibers now are put to work in modern apparel, home furnishings, medicine, aeronautics, energy, industry, and more. Fiber engineers can combine, modify and tailor fibers in ways far beyond the performance limits of fiber drawn from the silkworm cocoon, grown in the fields, or spun from the fleece of animals." - from the website The web page provides a summary of the evolution of manufactured fibers, from the the initial discovery of the properties of wood-based cellulose to those derived from petrochemicals. Highlighted are the creation of nylon, the emergence of "poly..." type fibers and the impact of the space program in pushing innovations in artificial textiles and materials. Those with a particularly keen interest in man-made fibers can unearth more detailed information, including microphotographic images, about specific fibers, such as one of the latest in the cooked-up-in-the-lab entrants -- microfiber -- by following the links at the bottom of the page. Slip over to the web page for an overview of the 20th century revolution in manufactured fibers at: http://www.fibersource.com/f-tutor/history.htm A.M. Holm <admin-sotd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Manage your subscription and view the List archives on the web at: <//www.freelists.org/cgi-bin/webpage?webpage_id=sotd> and <//www.freelists.org/archives/sotd> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSUBSCRIBE by sending a blank email to sotd-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with unsubscribe in the Subject field.