A comparison of teflon and plastic

From the Hagley Archive's collection of DuPont Product information photographs.

Definite industrial chemist as dominatrix vibe.

source (1945)


An explanation:

From a boiling bath of hot sulfuric acid, a laboratory technician lifts two rods of plastic. One has charred and deteriorated. The other-a rod of DuPont's new Teflon tetrafluoroethylene resin-is not affected at all by the highly corrosive hot acid. Teflon resists the most corrosive acids and solvents to a degree unequaled by any other plastic. It is not attacked even by aqua regia which dissolves gold and platinum.

A photo of another chemist doing the same thing, but it doesn't have the same vibe to it:

source (1945)

     Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 26, 2023
     Category: Mad Scientists, Evil Geniuses, Insane Villains | Photography and Photographers | Science | 1940s





Comments
"From a boiling bath of hot sulfuric acid . . ." It'd be more interesting if it was a boiling bath of frozen sulfuric acid.

Anecdotal experience isn't proof of anything, but three women in my high school class became chemists, and any of the three would have been perfect models for that first photo.
Posted by Phideaux on 03/26/23 at 11:15 AM
2nd photo is fake. Flames are fake-looking & you wouldn't be able to get close to a Bunsen burner running like that. No face shield? I don't think so. She's rational enough to apply make-up well to that pretty face. She's not gonna stick it next to boiling H2SO4 without protection.

Actually, 1st photo is just for demo. There's no immersion line on the charred rod. Also, what is the "plastic"?

It mentions aqua regia, which is a mix of nitric & hydrochloric acids. I saw what it can do in freshman chem. lab; I wouldn't go in the same room with that s**t.

Posted by Virtual in Carnate on 03/26/23 at 11:20 AM
For some reason the lady in the top pic reminds me of the Maria Robot from Metropolis. Virtual is right both are posed shots with post work done. Sulfuric acid is a clear liquid. And the whole beaker assembly in pic 2 looks like a double exposure with no attempt to adjust the proportions. Airbrush some impressive flames, listen to every working chemist in DuPont (my mom's dad included) screaming "No you fool! That's WRONG!" and the shots are ready for the magazine.
Posted by eddi on 03/27/23 at 04:44 AM
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