Plastic Hangers -- Broken Plastic Hangers!

Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic amorphous solidPlastic Chemistry daily materials used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce costs.

The word is derived from the Greek ????????? (plastikos) meaning fit for molding, and ??????? (plastos) meaning molded.Plastikos, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, at PerseusPlastic, Online Etymology Dictionary It refers to their malleability, or plasticity during manufacture, that allows them to be cast, pressed, or extruded into a variety of shapes?such as films, fibers, plates, tubes, bottles, boxes, and much more.

The common word plastic should not be confused with the technical adjective plastic, which is applied to any material which undergoes a permanent change of shape (plastic deformation) when strained beyond a certain point. Aluminium, for instance, is plastic in this sense, but not a plastic in the common sense; in contrast, in their finished forms, some plastics will break before deforming and therefore are not plastic in the technical sense.

There are two types of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers. Thermoplastics will soften and melt if enough heat is applied; examples are polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)Composition and Types of Plastic Inforplease website. Thermosets can melt and take shape once; after they have solidified, they stay solid.

A thermosetting plastic, also known as a thermoset, is polymer material that irreversibly cures. The cure may be done through heat (generally above ), through a chemical reaction (two-part epoxy, for example), or irradiation such as electron beam processing.

Thermoset materials are usually liquid or malleable prior to curing and designed to be molded into their final form, or used as adhesives. Others are solids like that of the molding compound used in semiconductors and integrated circuits (IC's).

According to IUPAC recommendation: A thermosetting polymer is a prepolymer in a soft solid or viscous state that changes irreversibly into an infusible, insoluble polymer network by curing. Curing can be induced by the action of heat or suitable radiation, or both. A cured thermosetting polymer is called a thermoset.