• Question: when was nylon invented and do the letters NY and LON stand for new york and london

    Asked by jjfarooq to Dalya, Derek, Sarah, Tim, Tom on 19 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Sarah Thomas

      Sarah Thomas answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      It was invented by two scientists at DuPont Laboratories (Julian Hill and Wallace Hume Carothers) in 1935. There was a high demand for a strong yet flexible textile and originally it was used for making parachutes and tyres!

      On an episode of QI (BBC programme with Stephen Fry) they said that it is a common misconception that the name means New York and London. Apparently the name was simply made up by a marketing team. They had lots of ideas such as Duparooh, Norun, Nillon and Nilon, before eventually agreeing on Nylon because of it’s less confusing pronounciation!

    • Photo: Derek McKay-Bukowski

      Derek McKay-Bukowski answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Wow, I didn’t know that. Great question jjfarooq, and thanks for the answer Sarah.

    • Photo: Tim Millar

      Tim Millar answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      We had a go at making nylon at school, 6:6 and 6:2 on the carbon chain lengths. Just mix the two chamicals together and at the interface the nylon forms. All you have to do is grab it with a pair of tweezers and pull.

      The lab was covered in strings of nylon which looked like tights hanging on the taps to dry.

    • Photo: Tom Crick

      Tom Crick answered on 19 Jun 2011:

      Here’s a good video for how nylon is made (I remember doing this experiment in chemistry!)…

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