Nathan Rosenberg, Inside the black box: technology and economics, 1982
pp.152-153
p.152
There are other powerful reasons why the relations between science and technology cannot be adequately described by visualizing scientific research as appearing first, eventually leading to applications in technology. Many aspects of a material are not explored scientifically until the material has been used for a long time. This is because many problems connected with the use of a new material take time to emerge. A major concern of materials research has been to improve performance by eliminating problems that often emerge only after prolonged use. Many materials are subject to an all-too-familiar and depressing litany of degradation, fracturing, contamination, aging, corrosion, brittleness under complex stress, and a host of related maintenance difficulties.
p.153
Thus, a great deal of research was conducted at Bell Labs on polyethylene before its widespread use on cable sheathing and wire insulation. Nevertheless, a whole new generation of problems arose after it had been installed. Much additional research, stimulated in part by these on-line difficulties, led to a much deeper understanding of its solidification pattern, or morphology. Out of this second generation of research came a much deeper understanding of how this morphology determines important mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties.23
p.153
The brittleness of polyethylene turned out to be influenced by its molecular weight and crystallinity, and so its molecular weight was increased. The disturbing tendency of polyethylene to oxidize readily was counteracted by the development and use of antioxidant compounds, and so on.
p.153
The growth of knowledge is much more cumulative and interactive than is realied, especially when it is thought of as a one-shot, once-and-for-all affair, with new scientific knowledge supposedly leading to technological application ─ period. In fact, continuing experiences with a material in a new environment, subject to new stresses, throw up new problems not dealt with, or even anticipated, before.
p.153
High-technology industries, by pushing against the limits of technical performance, are continually identifying new problems that can be addressed by science. At the same time, the prospective improvement in performance or reduction in costs promises large financial rewards. The intriguing question, of course, is why this mechanism seems to work so much better in some industries ─ or some firms ─ than others.
23 “An Interview with Dr. Bruce Hannay”, Bell Laboratories Record, February 1969, pp.45-52. As W. O. Baker has pointed out, “the aspect of polymer science that has enabled so dramatic an expansion into telecommunications ... within the past two decades, is the remarkable information transfer between behavior of the chemical entity (that is, the single average polymer molecule) and its physical embodiment, as in viscoelastic fluid form, or in solids, and ultimately in the increasingly adapted crystal itself. This is where polymore science is favored both intellectually and materially, for in the case of so many classes of matter, the coupling of bulk properties (tangible strength, resilience, friction, electrical nature, and so forth) with the basic structural unit, the atom or molecule, is far weaker. Metals are the classic other extreme, where the solid and liquid properties are almost wholly dominated by the aggregate although, of course, the total electronic structure of the single atom is of central significance. In addition, however, the individual molecular units in polymers themselves operate on a time scale of both mechanical and electrical relaxation such that a great range of conformations and of temporal responses can be obtained in their application. These factors are reflected in the growth of amounts of polymers used in the past decade by the Bell Telephone System.” “The Use of Polymer Science in Telecommunications”, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, p.620.
p.156
The burgeoning of organic chemical research in the last third of the 19th century was largely a consequence of Perkin's successful synthesis of mauvine, the first synthetic aniline dye.
p.156 Leo Baekland, in 1909
The rapid expansion of basic research on the behavior of large molecules was a consequence of “the development by Leo Baekland, in 1909, of phenol-formaldehyde compositions which can be molded into any shape and hardened through molecular cross-linking by heating under pressure.”26
26 Kranszberg and Smith, “Materials in History and Science”, p. 25.
p.74
Since the 1930s the building industry has been the recipient of numerous new plastics products that have found a wide range of uses, not the least of which has been cheap plastic sheeting that made possible an extension of the construction year by providing protection on the building site against inclement weather.44
p.74
44 “In the past thirty (30) years, one new major class of materials has been introduced into the building industry: plastics. Polyvinyl chloride dates from 1936; Polystyrene, from 1938; Malamines, from 1939; Polyethylene, from 1942; Polyesters, from 1952; and Urethanes, from 1953. All of these products have been developed within the chemical industry, many of them as snythetic products for wartime use. The growth of plastics has been rapid. The Census of Manufacturers reports a 1937 volume of $67 million, a 1950 volume of $791.8 million, and a 1958 volume of $1.8 billion ... De Marco of Monsanto Chemical Company estimated ... that in 1959 approximately 5 billion pounds of plastic were produced with about 18% going into the construction industry. It is further estimated that the construction industry's consumption rose from 501 to 866 million pounds between 1956 and 1959. About 40% of these plastics were in paints, 20% in laminates and floor coverings, and another 20% in wire coatings and electrical devices and controls” (Little [n. 20 above], pp. 120-1).
(Inside the black box./ Nathan Rosenberg, 1. technological innovations., 2. technology─social aspects., HC79.T4R673 1982, 338'.06, first published 1982, )
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Clayton M. Christensen, The innovator's prescription, 2009 [ ]
p.321
Christensen recounted the history of plastic molecule-building technology in this course a couple of years ago and then asserted, “At any point today if you will just stand and turn around 360 degrees, you'll be able to see or touch about 20 plastics and fibers that have proven to be an extraordinary blessing to mankind, because of their cost, durability, and appearance. But this blessing ([and possibly a curse]) did not come by replicating the expertise of DuPont's scientists. It came from scientific and technological progress that commoditized their expertise.”
( Christensen, Clayton M., 2009, The innovator's prescription : a disruptive solution for health care / by Clayton M. Christensen, Jerome H. Grossman, Jason Hwang., 1. Health services administration., 2. Public health administration.
3. Disruptive technologies., RA971.C56 2009, 362.1 Christen, )
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