Word: plastics
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...before a parliamentary committee. Italy's paramilitary group, dubbed Gladio (Sword), had 622 members and 139 stockpiles of arms and explosives hidden around the country, Martini said. When the caches were gathered up in 1972, he added, 10 were found empty. One of them had contained eight kilos of plastic explosive, leading left-wing politicians to voice suspicion that the plastic had been used for the neofascist terrorism that plagued Italy in the 1970s...
Advanced materials are just now starting to show up in commercial products. Examples: ceramic scissors that never rust or get dull, plastic lumber that is water-resistant and does not swell or warp like wood, and "metal" windows that keep excessive light and heat out of a house in summer and trap them inside during winter. In the U.S. the aerospace industry, including the military, is the biggest consumer of engineered materials, accounting for more than two-thirds of all use. The substances, used in door panels and floors, account for about 14% of a typical airplane's weight...
...from a distance, the grayish two-story home with panoramic windows and pointed chimney casts a distinctive profile against the suburban sky. But only a closer inspection reveals what is truly unique about this house. Instead of sporting bricks or aluminum siding, the dwelling is covered with superstrong, superdurable plastic panels. The shingles on its vaulted roof are made not of wood but of another tough plastic; so too, in fact, are the floors, doorframes, light fixtures, plumbing pipes and even the windows...
This experimental "plastic" house, built by General Electric in Pittsfield, Mass., is perhaps the most striking use so far of a new class of souped-up substances called advanced materials. These novel building blocks are basically futuristic versions of present-day metals, glasses, plastics and ceramics. But unlike conventional counterparts, the materials are made with extra ingredients that greatly enhance their performance or give them new features. By blending in stiff carbon fibers, for example, modern-day alchemists have developed plastics that are up to 10 times as strong as conventional plastics. And by mixing copper with zinc and aluminum...
...fastest-growing market is the auto industry, which is increasingly replacing metal with lightweight plastics in bumpers, body panels and other parts. These polymers typically weigh half as much as steel but are just as strong. The plastics conserve gas by making a vehicle lighter, and manufacturing them requires 10% to 20% less energy than fabricating metal parts. Admittedly, there can be problems. General Motors found that the polymer body panels of some of its minivans started to peel like old wallpaper. Moisture had seeped between the sheets of plastic and caused the panels to come unglued...