Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres (in British English; see spelling variations) are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis as opposed to natural fibers that are directly taken from living creatures, such as the plants (like cotton) or fur of animals. They are the result of intensive research conducted by scientists to duplicate natural animal and plant fibers. Synthetic fibers are created by extruding fiber-forming substances through spinnerets, creating a fiber. These are known as synthetic or synthetic fibers like Aluminium extrusion. The term “polymer” comes from the Greek word that begins with the prefix “poly” which means “many” and suffix “mer” that means “single units”. (Note: each single piece of polymer is known as a monomer).
The first completely synthetic fiber was glass. Joseph Swan invented one of the first artificial fibers around 1880 and today, it is called semisynthetic in precise usage. The fiber was extracted from a liquid cellulose, made by chemically altering the tree bark’s fiber. The synthetic fiber resulting from this process was chemically comparable in its applications potential to the carbon filament Swan had developed to power its incandescent lamp, but Swan was quick to realize how the ability of this fiber could revolutionize textile manufacturing. In 1885, he unveiled fabrics he had manufactured from its synthetic materials at International Inventions Exhibition in London.
Next, the next stage was initiated by Hilaire de Chardonnet, the French engineer and industrialist, who developed the first artificial silk, which he called “Chardonnet silk”. In the 1870s, Chardonnet was working alongside Louis Pasteur on a remedy for the disease that was taking over French silkworms. Failure to clean up a spill in the darkroom led to Chardonnet’s discovery of nitrocellulose as a potential replacement for real silk. Recognizing the importance of such an invention, Chardonnet began to develop his own product, which presented in the Paris Exhibition of 1889. Chardonnet’s material was extremely inflammable and was eventually replaced with other, more durable materials.
