What was invented in 1862

A Balloon Corps was established by President Lincoln early on. The maiden voyage of the first official Union balloon occurred in late August, Balloon operators used another wartime innovation, the telegraph, to let commanders on the ground know of Confederates movements. This allowed Union guns to be repositioned and fired accurately at troops more than three miles away-a first in military history. Railroads The Civil War was the first war to use railroads, encouraged by President Lincoln — himself a former railroad lawyer — who understood how vital they were for moving men and supplies.

The North had a distinct advantage, with superior infrastructure 20, miles of track , better equipment and their own locomotive factory. Whereas the South had just 9, miles of track and had converted its locomotive works into an armaments factory. The trains allowed generals to move their soldiers, supplies and armaments to where they were most needed. Rail centers and railroad infrastructure soon became targets for attack.

While the South's rail system was weak, they were the first to use trains to their advantage, transporting supplies and soldiers to vital areas. The North was stymied by railroad owners more concerned with how much they could charge, than how quickly they could aid the cause. In fact, Secretary of War Simon Cameron was forced to resign when it was discovered he was trying to profit from War Department contracts for railroad shipping. Army ambulance corps Jonathan Letterman, Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac, was responsible for creating the first organized transport of the wounded.

Ambulance units usually consisted of a ragtag group of soldiers who were otherwise unfit for fighting. Letterman innovated and regimented the process.

Today, PVC is popular in the medical and construction industries. First discovered accidentally in by the German chemist Hans von Pechmann, polyethylene became widely commercially available in Polyethylene is the most popular plastic today with a global production of approximately 80 million tons per year. It is available in a variety of different densities and grades.

Soon, nylon replaced expensive silk in military applications and clothing during World War II. Nylon is one of the most popular and inexpensive materials for plastic components today. As you can see, most plastic materials were developed as cheaper alternatives to precious natural materials.

Scientists and manufacturers continue to refine their products to meet demand, as we can see now with the advent of biodegradable and environmentally-friendly plastics. Who knows what the future will bring? Ask me in the comments section below! The material, called Parkesine , was an organic material derived from cellulose that, once heated, could be molded and retained its shape when cooled. Celluloid is derived from cellulose and alcoholized camphor. John Wesley Hyatt invented celluloid as a substitute for the ivory in billiard balls in He first tried using a natural substance called collodion after spilling a bottle of it and discovering that the material dried into a tough and flexible film.

However, the material was not strong enough to be used as a billiard ball without the addition of camphor, a derivative of the laurel tree—celluloid was created when these were combined. The new celluloid could be molded with heat and pressure into a durable shape. Besides billiard balls, celluloid became famous as the first flexible photographic film used for still photography and motion pictures. Hyatt created celluloid in a strip format for movie film.

By , movie film was an exploding market for celluloid. After cellulose nitrate, formaldehyde was the next product to advance the technology of plastic. Around , efforts to manufacture white chalkboards led to the invention of casein plastics milk protein mixed with formaldehyde. Galalith and Erinoid are two early tradename examples. In , Arthur Smith received British Patent 16, for "phenol-formaldehyde resins for use as an ebonite substitute in electrical insulation," the first patent for processing a formaldehyde resin.

However, in , Leo Hendrik Baekeland improved phenol-formaldehyde reaction techniques and invented the first fully synthetic resin to become commercially successful under the trade name Bakelite. Here is a brief timeline of the evolution of plastics. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data.