This reading shows how the science of Wallace Carothers became the technology of nylon. It is important that the students grasp the difference (and the relationship) between the abstract scientific questions Carothers was seeking to answer and the very practical technology of new materials that resulted from his work. This reading ties-in very nicely with the activity The One That Got Away.

Relevant National Science Education Standards

Unifying Concepts and Processes — The step-growth polymerization system that produces nylon is central to the reading.

Physical Science — The molecular structure of nylon is central to the reading as is the chemical reaction that produces nylon.

Science and Technology — The reading is the story of an important technology that sprang from the pursuit of scientific understanding of polymeric materials and the eventual application of that understanding to create new polymers.

Science in Personal and Social Perspectives — This reading relates that the invention of nylon took place in the context of the threat of war between Japan and the United States and that the need for a silk substitute in the event of war was a driving factor in the push to create nylon.

History and Nature of Science — This historical account shows the invention of nylon as deeply intertwined with the human activities of business and politics.