material / synthetics / fiberglass
material / synthetics / glue
material / synthetics / plastic
material / synthetics / polymer
material / synthetics / property
material / synthetics / resin
material / synthetics / rubber

material / synthetics / fiberglass

• fiberglass-reinforced plastic: A polyester reinforced with glass fibers and used in translucent roofs and skylights, facings for sandwich panels, and molded plumbing fixtures.

material / synthetics / glue

• casein glue: A glue made from casein and borax.
• flake glue: A glue made from animal substances.
• glue: A cementing substance.
• magnesite: A material usually combining calcined magnesium oxide and magnesium chloride, applied in plastic state for flooring, integral bases, and wainscots on wood with metal lath, or on concrete.
• marine glue: A waterproof glue made with a shellac or caoutchouc base and oil solvent.
• waterproof glues: Glues made from synthetic resins.

material / synthetics / plastic

• acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene: A thermoplastic used for making plastic pipes and hardware products that are tough, rigid, and resistant to heat and chemicals. Abbreviation: ABS.
• blow molding: A method of forming hollow ware by injecting air under pressure into a molten mass, as of a thermoplastic or glass, and shaping the material within a mold.
• Butyl: Trademark for a brand of butyl rubber.
• calendering: A method of producing plastic film or sheeting by passing the material between a series of revolving, heated rollers.
• catalyst: A substance that causes or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself undergoing a permanent change in composition.
• compression molding: A method of forming thermosetting plastic by closing a mold on it, forming the material by heat and pressure.
• Dacron: Trademark for a brand of strong, wrinkle-resistant polyester fiber.
• film: Sheeting having a nominal thickness not greater than 10 mils.
• Formica: Trade name for a plastic material, usually in sheet form.
• high-pressure laminate: A plastic laminate molded and cured in the range of pressures from 1200 to 2000 psi (84 to 140 kg per sq. cm), used for surfacing countertops and cabinetry.
• injection molding: A method of forming a thermoplastic, thermoset, metal, or ceramic material by rendering it fluid in a heating chamber and then forcing it under high pressure into a closed mold.
• Lexan: Trademark for a brand of tough polycarbonate used for shatterproof windows.
• low-pressure laminate: A plastic laminate molded and cured with a maximum pressure of 400 psi (28 kg per sq. m), used in vertical and low-wear applications.
• Lucite: Trade name for a plastic material available in transparent sheets and other forms.
• Mylar: Trademark for a brand of strong, thin polyester film used in photography, recording tapes, and electrical insulation.
• neoprene: A synthetic rubber characterized by superior resistance to oils and sunlight, and used in paints, roofing membranes, flashing, gaskets, and bearings.
• nylon: Any of a class of thermoplastics characterized by extreme toughness, strength, and elasticity and capable of being extruded into filaments, fibers, and sheets.
• plastic: Any of numerous synthetic or natural organic materials that are mostly thermoplastic or thermosetting polymers of high molecular weight and that can be molded, extruded, or drawn into objects, films, or filaments.
• plastic foam: Plastic, as polyurethane or polystyrene, made light and cellular by the introduction of pockets or gas or air and used as thermal insulation.
• Plexiglas: Trade name for a group of plastic products, among which the transparent sheet form is most common.
• polycarbonate: A tough, transparent thermoplastic characterized by its high-impact strength and used for lighting fixtures, safety glazing, and hardware.
• polyethylene: A tough, light, and flexible thermoplastic used especially in the form of sheeting and film for packaging, dampproofing, and as a vapor retarder. Also called polythene.
• polymerization: A chemical reaction in which the molecules of a monomer combine to form larger molecules that contain repeating structural units of the original molecules.
• polypropylene: A tough, thermoplastic that is resistant to heat and chemicals and used for pipe fittings, electrical insulation, and carpeting fibers.
• polystyrene: A hard, tough, stable thermoplastic that is easily colored and molded, expanded, or rolled into sheeting.
• polythene: A tough, light, and flexible thermoplastic used especially in the form of sheeting and film for packaging, dampproofing, and as a vapor retarder.
• polyurethane foam: A rigid expanded polyurethane having a closed-cell structure and used as thermal insulation.
• polyvinyl chloride: A white, water-insoluble thermoplastic widely used in the manufacture of floor coverings, insulation, and piping. Abbreviation: PVC.
• postforming: A method of shaping a fully or partially cured thermosetting laminate over a mold by heat and pressure.
• pressure forming: A method of thermoforming a plastic sheet by forcing it against the contours of a mold with compressed air.
• rubber: Rubbed brick, brick rubber, cutter, or malm is a soft brick made of special well-mixed fine loamy clay containing a lot of sand and baked (not burnt) in a kiln, readily sawn and rubbed to the required shape. It is used for making gauged brick arches, etc., the extremely fine joints between the rubbers being formed of lime-putty rather than conventional mortar, which would be too coarse. 2. A material made by chemically treating and toughening natural rubber, valued for its elasticity, nonconduction of electricity, and resistance to shock and moisture.
• service temperature: The maximum temperature at which a plastic can be continuously employed without a noticeable reduction in any of its inherent properties.
• sheeting: A thin form of plastic, having a thickness very small in proportion to its length and width. 2. A line of planks, often tongued and grooved on the sides, driven endwise into the ground to protect subgrade operations.
• softening point: The temperature at which a plastic changes from a rigid to a soft state.
• stabilizer: A substance added to prevent or retard the degradation of a plastic when exposed to the ultraviolet radiation or other environmental conditions.
• thermoforming: A method of shaping a thermoplastic sheet by heating and forcing it against the contours of a mold by heat and pressure.
• thermoplastic: A plastic capable of softening or fusing when heated without a change in any inherent properties, and of hardening again when cooled.
• thermoset: A plastic that becomes permanently rigid when heated and cannot be softened again.
• thermosetting plastic: A plastic that becomes permanently rigid when heated and cannot be softened again. Also called thermoset.
• transfer molding: A method of forming thermosetting plastic by softening it in one chamber before it is forced into an adjacent mold where it is cured under heat and pressure.
• vacuum forming: A method of thermoforming a plastic sheet by evacuating the space between the sheet and the contours of a mold.
• vulcanization: The treatment of rubber with sulfur and heat to impart greater elasticity, strength, and durability.
• Xylonite: Fibrous vegetable matter (e.g. cotton and flax waste and old rags), dissolved in acid and neutralized, which produced a substance called Parkesine… In its liquid state it was used as a waterproofing agent, in its plastic form for insulation, and with the addition of oils, glues, and color, for making objects, e.g. tubes and architectural enrichment…

material / synthetics / polymer

• copolymer: A compound of high molecular weight formed by polymerizing two or more different monomers together.
• elastometer: Any of various polymers having the elastic properties of natural rubber, as butyl rubber or neoprene.
• epoxy resin: Any of various thermosetting resins capable of forming tight cross-linked polymer structures characterized by toughness, strong adhesion, and high corrosion and chemical resistance, used especially in surface coatings and adhesives.
• high polymer: A polymer consisting of molecules that are large multiples of monomers.
• monomer: A molecule of low molecular weight that can be chemically bound as a unit of a polymer.
• polymer: A compound of high molecular weight formed by polymerization and consisting essentially of repeating structural units.
• polyvinyl resin: Any of a class of thermoplastic resins formed by polymerizing or copolymerizing a vinyl compound. Also called vinyl resin.
• silicone: Any of a group of polymers containing alternating silicon and oxygen atoms, characterized by thermal stability, chemical inertness, and extreme water repellence, and used in adhesives, lubricants, protective coatings, and synthetic rubber.
• vinyl resin: Any of a class of thermoplastic resins formed by polymerizing or copolymerizing a vinyl compound.

material / synthetics / property

• amorphous: Not crystalline in structure.
• anion: A negatively charged ion created by electron gain.
• atom: The smallest unit of an element that can exist either alone or in combination, consisting of a nucleus of neutrons and protons surrounded by one or more electrons bound to the nucleus by electrical attraction.
• atomic number: The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom of a given element, which equals the number of electrons normally surrounding the nucleus. Also called proton number.
• atomic weight: The average weight of an atom of an element based on 1/12 the weight of the carbon 12 atom.
• cation: A positively charged ion created by electron loss.
• chemical bond: The attractive force by which atoms, ions, or groups of atoms are bound together in a molecule or crystalline structure.
• condense: To reduce to a denser form, as a gas or vapor to a liquid or solid state.
• crystal: A solid having a regularly repeating internal structure of atoms, ions, or molecules and enclosed by symmetrically arranged plane surfaces.
• electron: A fundamental particle of matter having a negative charge.
• electrovalent bond: A chemical bond characteristic of salts and ceramic materials, formed by the complete transfer of one or more electrons from one kind of ion to another.
• element: One of a class of substances that cannot be separated into simpler substances by chemical means, composed of atoms having an identical number of protons in each nucleus.
• evaporate: To change or convert from a liquid or solid into a vapor.
• fluid: A substance, as a gas or liquid, that is capable of flowing, yields easily to pressure, and conforms to the shape of its container.
• heat of condensation: The heat liberated by a unit mass of gas at its boiling point as it condenses to a liquid.
• heat of fusion: The quantity of heat required to convert a unit mass of a solid at its melting point into a liquid at the same temperature: equal to the heat of solidification.
• heat of solidification: The heat liberated by a unit mass of liquid at its freezing point as it solidifies.
• heat of vaporization: The quantity of heat required to convert a unit mass of liquid at its boiling point into vapor at the same temperature: equal to the heat of condensation.
• hydrogen bond: An electrostatic bond between an electronegative atom and a hydrogen atom already linked to another electronegative atom by a covalent bond.
• inert gas configuration: The stable configuration of an element in which the outer shells of its atoms or ions are filled with the maximum number of electron pairs. Nature moves atoms and ions toward this configuration by capturing, surrendering, or sharing electrons with neighboring atoms or ions in an effort to achieve a relatively inert state of low energy.
• ion: An electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons.
• ionic bond: A chemical bond characteristic of salts and ceramic materials, formed by the complete transfer of one or more electrons from one kind of ion to another. Also called electrovalent bond.
• liquid: Matter distinguished from the solid or gaseous states by a characteristic readiness to flow, little or no tendency to disperse, and relatively high incompressibility.
• matter: That which occupies space, can be perceived by the senses, and constitutes the substance of a physical body.
• metallic bond: A chemical bond characteristic of metals, produced by the sharing of valence electrons which move freely through the lattice of a usually stable crystalline structure.
• mol: The molecular weight of a substance expressed in grams: gram molecule.
• mole: A sea wall, dam, or quay. 2. The molecular weight of a substance expressed in grams: gram molecule. Also, mol.
• molecular weight: The average weight of a molecule or an element or compound calculated as the sum of the atomic weights of the molecule’s constituent atoms. Also called formula weight.
• molecule: The smallest particle of a substance that displays all of the characteristic physical and chemical properties of the substance, consisting of one or more like atoms in an element, or two or more different atoms in a compound.
• negative ion: A negatively charged ion created by electron gain. Also called anion.
• neutron: A fundamental particle having no charge.
• periodic table: A tabular arrangement of the chemical elements in related groups, formerly in the order of their atomic weights and now according to their atomic numbers.
• positive ion: A positively charged ion created by electron loss. Also call cation.
• proton: A positively charged particle that is a fundamental constituent of all atomic nuclei.
• proton number: The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom of a given element, which equals the number of electrons normally surrounding the nucleus.
• solidify: To change or convert from a liquid or gas into a solid.
• valence: A measure of the capacity of an atom or group to combine with other atoms or groups, equal to the number of chemical bonds the atom or group can form.
• valence electron: An electron located in the outer shell of an atom that can be transferred or shared in forming a chemical bond with another atom.

material / synthetics / resin

• acrylic resin: Any of a class of thermoplastic resins used for casting or molding plastic parts that are exceptionally transparent, tough, and resistant to weather and chemicals, or as the main ingredient in coatings, adhesives, and caulking compounds.
• alkyd resin: Any of a group of synthetic resins derived from a polyvalent alcohol in reaction with an organic acid, used chiefly in adhesives and paints.
• Bakelite: Trademark for a brand of dark phenolic resin, invented by Dr. Leo Baekeland in 1916, and used for telephone receivers, radio cabinets, electric insulators, and molded plastic hardware.
• beaumotage: A resin, beeswax, and shellac mixture used for filling small holes or cracks in wood or metal.
• dammar: A gum resin used as a base of certain varnishes.
• gamboge: A gum resin used as a yellow pigment.
• melamine resin: Any of a class of thermosetting resins formed by the interaction of melanine and formaldehyde and used for molded products, adhesives, and surface coatings.
• Micarta: Trade name for a plastic material made of resin-soaked layers of paper or cloth fused together under heat and pressure. Used in sheet form for table tops and similar durable and decorative needs, and in many other forms for insulation, gears, etc.
• phenolic resin: Any of a class of hard, heat-resistant thermosetting resins formed by the condensation of phenol with formaldehyde and used for molded products, adhesives, and surface coatings. Also called phenoplast.
• phenoplast: Any of a class of hard, heat-resistant thermosetting resins formed by the condensation of phenol with formaldehyde and used for molded products, adhesives, and surface coatings.
• plastic laminate: A hard surfacing material consisting of superposed layers of paper impregnated with melamine and phenolic resins, fused together under heat and pressure.
• plasticizer: Any of various substances added to a resin to increase its workability and flexibility. 2. An admixture for making a concrete or mortar mix workable with little water.
• polyester: Any of a group of thermosetting resins used in the manufacture of plastics and textile fibers.
• polyurethane: Any of various thermoplastic or thermosetting resins used in flexible and rigid foams, elastomers, and resins for sealants, adhesives, and coatings.
• polyvinyl butyral: A thermoplastic resin used chiefly as the interlayer of safety glass.
• resin: A solid, water-insoluble, organic substance with little or no tendency to crystallize. An alkyd resin is one made from polyhydric alcohols and polybased acids. A phenolic resin is a synthetic resin made from phenols and aldehydes. 2. A viscous, clear to translucent, organic substance exuded by certain pines, used in making varnishes, adhesives, and plastics.
• resinous matrix: A latex, polyester, or epoxy binder combined with stone chips to forma terrazzo topping especially resistant to chemicals and abrasion.
• urea-formaldehyde resin: Any of various thermosetting synthetic resin made by condensing urea with formaldehyde and used in appliance housings, electrical devices, adhesives, and surface coatings.
• vinyl: Any of various tough, flexible plastics made from polyvinyl resin, often used for floors or exterior siding.

material / synthetics / rubber

• butyl rubber: A synthetic rubber having exceptional resistance to sunlight and unusually low gaseous permeability, produced by polymerizing butylene and used in roofing membranes and waterproofing barriers.
• EPDM: Ethylene propylene diene monomer, a synthetic rubber manufactured in sheets and used as a roofing membrane.
• foam rubber: A light, spongy, cellular rubber made by foaming latex before vulcanization.
• Hypalon: Trademark for a brand of chlorinated polyethylene.
• india rubber: A highly elastic solid substance, essentially a polymer of isoprene, obtained by coagulating the milky juice of rubber trees and plans.
• latex: A water emulsion of synthetic rubber or plastic globules obtained by polymerization and used in paints and adhesives.
• natural rubber: A highly elastic solid substance, essentially a polymer of isoprene, obtained by coagulating the milky juice of rubber trees and plans. Also called India rubber.
• silicone rubber: A rubber made from silicone elastomers and noted for its retention of flexibility, resilience, and tensile strength over a wide temperature range.
• synthetic rubber: An elastometer similar to natural rubber in properties and uses, produced by the polymerization of an unsaturated hydrocarbon, as butylene or isoprene, or by the copolymerization of hydrocarbons with styrene and butadiene.

Also see Architecture index.