Bakelite

The first fully synthetic plastic, a 1907 thermoset that dressed radios, telephones, and the age itself.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Leo Baekeland announced it in 1907, marketing "the material of a thousand uses".
• As a thermoset it cures permanently — heat it again and it chars rather than melts.
• Its heat and electrical resistance made it the housing of early radios, telephones, and switches.

Specifications & Metrics

• MONOMER: Phenol + formaldehyde