Properties of synthetic materials
Some of the most important properties of synthetic materials are as follows: 1. Tensile strength 2. Action of water 3. Action of heat and flame 4. Thermal conductivity 5. Electrical conductivity.
The usefulness or otherwise of a synthetic material depends upon the following properties.
1. Tensile strength: This property gives us an idea of the strength a material shows when it is pulled.
2. Action of water: Natural fibres absorb water quite efficiently whereas synthetic fibres do not. Other synthetic polymers also do not absorb water. You have already learnt that clothes made of fabrics that absorb water are more comfortable to wear than clothes made of materials that do not.
3. Action of heat and flame: Most synthetic polymers are heat sensitive. On being heated, they melt, and at higher temperatures they burn.
Vegetable fibres are heat resistant—they do not melt. Nor do they catch fire as easily. Animal fibres are heat sensitive.
You know that some polymers are heat-set whereas others are not. You can study all this by performing the following activities with the help of an adult.
4. Thermal conductivity: The thermal conductivity of a material gives us an idea of how easily the material conducts heat, i.e., allows the passage of heat through it. Synthetic polymers are generally bad conductors of heat, i.e., they have low thermal conductivity. You can understand this through the following activity.
4. Thermal conductivity: The thermal conductivity of a material gives us an idea of how easily the material conducts heat, i.e., allows the passage of heat through it. Synthetic polymers are generally bad conductors of heat, i.e., they have low thermal conductivity. You can understand this through the following activity.
5. Electrical conductivity: The electrical conductivity of a material tells us how easily the material allows an electric current to pass through it. Synthetic polymers are generally insulators, i.e., bad conductors of electricity. It is for this general behaviour that plastic materials are used for insulating electric wires.
Some of the most important properties of synthetic materials are as follows: 1. Tensile strength 2. Action of water 3. Action of heat and flame 4. Thermal conductivity 5. Electrical conductivity.
The usefulness or otherwise of a synthetic material depends upon the following properties.
1. Tensile strength:This property gives us an idea of the strength a material shows when it is pulled.
Natural fibres absorb water quite efficiently whereas synthetic fibres do not. Other synthetic polymers also do not absorb water. You have already learnt that clothes made of fabrics that absorb water are more comfortable to wear than clothes made of materials that do not.
Most synthetic polymers are heat sensitive. On being heated, they melt, and at higher temperatures they burn.
Vegetable fibres are heat resistant—they do not melt. Nor do they catch fire as easily. Animal fibres are heat sensitive.
You know that some polymers are heat-set whereas others are not. You can study all this by performing the following activities with the help of an adult.
The thermal conductivity of a material gives us an idea of how easily the material conducts heat, i.e., allows the passage of heat through it. Synthetic polymers are generally bad conductors of heat, i.e., they have low thermal conductivity. You can understand this through the following activity.
The thermal conductivity of a material gives us an idea of how easily the material conducts heat, i.e., allows the passage of heat through it. Synthetic polymers are generally bad conductors of heat, i.e., they have low thermal conductivity. You can understand this through the following activity.
The electrical conductivity of a material tells us how easily the material allows an electric current to pass through it. Synthetic polymers are generally insulators, i.e., bad conductors of electricity. It is for this general behaviour that plastic materials are used for insulating electric wires.
