Synthetic fibers , also known as synthetic fibres (in British English; see spelling differences) are fibers made by humans via chemical synthesis, in contrast to natural fibers which are directly made from living organisms such as plants (like cotton) or fur from animals. They result from vast research conducted by scientists in order to replicate naturally occurring animal and plant fibers. In general, synthetic fibers are made by extruding fiber forming materials through spinnerets, forming an elongated fiber. They are referred to as synthetic or synthetic fibers like Aluminium extrusion. The term “polymer” comes from the Greek suffix “poly” that means “many” and the suffix “mer” that means “single pieces”. (Note that every single piece of a polymer known as”monomer”).
The first completely synthetic fiber was glass. Joseph Swan invented one of the first artificial fibers in the 1880s; today it would be described as semisynthetic based on the specific usage. His fiber was drawn from a liquid cellulose, formed by chemically modifying the tree bark’s fiber. The fiber synthesized by this process was chemically identical similar to carbon filaments Swan had developed for the incandescent bulb, however, Swan soon realized the potential of the fiber to transform the production of textiles. In 1885, Swan unveiled fabrics he made using this synthetic substance at the International Inventions Exhibition in London.
Next, the next stage was undertaken by Hilaire de Chardonnet Hilaire de Chardonnet, a French industrialist and engineer who came up with the first synthetic silk, which he referred to as “Chardonnet silk”. In the 1870s, Chardonnet was working along with Louis Pasteur on a remedy to the epidemic that was destroying French silkworms. Inability to eliminate an accident in the darkroom led to Chardonnet’s discovery of Nitrocellulose, a possible replacement for real silk. Realizing the value of such the discovery, Chardonnet began to develop his new product, which presented in the Paris Exhibition of 1889. The material he developed by Chardonnet was extremely inflammable, so it was substituted with other, more durable materials.
