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Nylonisasyntheticpolymer,aplastic,inventedonFebruary28,1935byWallaceCarothersattheE.I.duPontdeNemoursandCompanyofWilmington,Delaware,USA.Thematerialwasannouncedin1938andthefirstnylonproducts;anylonbristletoothbrushmadewithnylonyarn(wentonsaleonFebruary24,1938)andmorefamously,women’sstockings(wentonsaleonMay15,1940).Nylonfibresarenowusedtomakemanysyntheticfabrics,andsolidnylonisusedasanengineeringmaterial.
Chemically,nylonisacondensationpolymermadeofrepeatingunitswithamidelinkagesbetweenthem:henceitisfrequentlyreferredtoasapolyamide.Itwasthefirstsyntheticfibretobemadeentirelyfrominorganicingredients:coal,waterandair.Theseareformedintotwointermediatechemicals,mostcommonlyhexamethylenediamineandadipicacid(adicarboxylicacid),whicharethenmixedtopolymerise.Themostcommonvariantisnylon6,6,alsocallednylon66,whichreferstothefactthatboththediamineandthediacidhave6carbonbackbones.Thediacidanddiamineunitsalternateinthepolymerchain.Therefore,unlikenaturalpolyamideslikeproteins,thedirectionoftheamidebondreversesateachbond.
Thereisnoevidenceforthepopularbeliefthat"nylon"isacontractionof"NY"(for"NewYork")and"Lon"for"London",thetwocitieswherethematerialwasfirstmanufactured.In1940JohnW.EckelberryofDuPontstatedthattheletters"nyl"werearbitraryandthe"on"wascopiedfromthenamesofotherfibressuchascottonandrayon.AlaterpublicationbyDuPont(Context,vol.7,no.2,1978)explainedthatthenamewasoriginallyintendedtobe"No-Run"("run"inthiscontextmeaning"unravel"),butwasthenmodifiedtoavoidmakingsuchanunjustifiedclaimandtomakeitsoundbetter.ThestorygoesthatCarotherschangedoneletteratatimeuntilDuPont’smanagementweresatisfied.
Anotherpopularbeliefisthatnylonstandsfor"nowyou,lazyoldnippon,"asnylonwasdevelopedinthe1930s.InthissentencenipponstandsforJapan,asinthe1930s,thedecadeinwhichnylonwasdeveloped,achemical"war"wastakingplacebetweentheUSandJapan.
Eventhoughthewordnylonwascoined,itwasnevertrademarked.
DuringWorldWarII,nylonreplacedAsiansilkinparachutes.Itwasalsousedtomaketires,tents,ropes,ponchos,andothermilitarysupplies.Itwasevenusedintheproductionofahigh-gradepaperforUScurrency.AttheoutsetoftheWar,cottonaccountedformorethan80percentofallfibresused,andmanufacturedandwoolfibresaccountedfortheremaining20percent.ByAugust,1945,manufacturedfibreshadrisento25percent,andcottonhaddroppedto75percent.
Someconspiracytheoristssurmisethatcannabiswasmadeillegalbecausethefibresfromthehempplant,usedforfabricsandropes,wereinstrongcompetitionwithnylon.However,nylonfiberismorethantwiceasstrongashempfiberandweighs25%less.Whilehempwasoriginallyusedinclimbingrope,itisnowvirtuallyunusedinmodernclimbing,includingcountrieswherecannabisislegal.