Essay Example on Stephanie Kwolek and Her Invention

What did Stephanie Kwolek inventor to what area of technology did he or she contribute?

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

In 1965, Stephanie Kwolek made an unforeseen revelation that prompted the making of synthetic fibers that could not even be penetrated with any substance made of steel such as bullets. Amid her examination of long particle chains at low temperatures, Stephanie watched how polyamide atoms line up to frame fluid crystalline polymer arrangements of remarkable stiffness and incredible strength. That disclosure cleared a path for Stephanie's development of fibers that are used in the industries. The fibers are of great importance as they today ensure and spare a great many lives (Kwolek-Folland 1-10). Most Outstanding among these is Kevlar, a material with a unique property. The material is heat resistant and is said to be stronger than steel in a ratio of five, but most surprisingly are the fact that it is very light. The material is recorded to be lighter than even fiberglass. Today, Kevlar is utilized as a part of several items, including space crafts, bulletproof or impenetrable vests, protective gloves, tennis racquets, tires, and helmets.

What motivated Stephanie Kwolek to accomplish what he or she accomplished?

Stephanie was born in New Kensington; she built up affection for fabrics and sewing from her mom, a homemaker. She additionally had a solid enthusiasm for educating, science, and particularly medication. After moving on from Margaret Morrison Carnegie School in 1946 with a degree in science, Stephanie connected for a position as a scientist with the DuPont Organization, however despite everything she had her eye on restorative school.

Attached to the polymer research at DuPont, she deserted her arrangements for therapeutic school to end up a lifetime scientific expert. Kwolek worked in growing low-temperature forms for discovering petroleum-based engineered filaments of unimaginable quality and unbending nature. Doled out to finding the up and coming era of strands that could withstand amazing conditions, Kwolek's work included get ready intermediates, orchestrating fragrant polyamides of high sub-atomic weight, dissolving the polyamides in solvents, and turning these arrangements into filaments (Raftenberg, Scheidler and Moy, p. 34).

Out of the blue, she found that under certain conditions, huge quantities of polyamide atoms line up in parallel to frame shady fluid crystalline arrangements. Most analysts would have rejected the arrangement since it was liquid and overcast as opposed to thick and clear. In any case, Kwolek took a risk and spun the arrangement into filaments more solid and firm than had ever been made. This achievement opened up the possible outcomes for a large group of new items impervious to tears, slugs, compelling temperatures, and different conditions.

Who or what influenced or inspired this Stephanie Kwolek?

Having graduated with a degree in science from Margaret Morrison Carnegie School of Carnegie Mellon College at the age of 23, the knowledge she learnt from college greatly influenced her interest to work in her line of innovation (Moran, p. 78). Furthermore, she was immediately enrolled to fill in as a scientific expert at Dupont Chemicals in Wild ox, NY. After four years, she moved to Wilmington, Delaware where she spent the rest of her vocation with DuPont. At these main points of engagement in science study, she was largely involved in several research works.

Her pathway to disclosure started a year before when she started searching for another, lightweight plastic to be utilized as a part of auto tires. The thought was that lighter tires would permit vehicles to appreciate better mileage. This thought greatly inspired and drove her to make these great contributions as far as technology is concerned. Not just did Kevlar discover use in tires, its blend of gentility and quality has seen it utilized as a part of a huge assortment of defensive attire applications, for example, impenetrable vests, which have spared the lives of endless cops and other individuals.

What was Stephanie Kwoleks educational background, what problems or challenges did he or she face?

After the birth of Stephanie, she grew a lot of love for science and medicine. Chemistry became one of her favorite subjects right from childhood (Kwolek-Folland 1-10). She was admitted to the women' school (Margaret Morrison Carnegie School) of Carnegie-Mellon College and latter graduated. She was involved in a lot of research work which helped her nurture his knowledge in Chemistry and Science at large.

She faced several challenges in her bid to pursue education. Among are that at the age of 10 years, Stephanie lost her father, and she had to throw her education without the fatherly love. This also drastically affected her education as her studies were at times interrupted due to lack of enough resources.

How did Stephanie Kwoleks accomplishment(s) affect society? What was Stephanie Kwoleks role in the development of the technologies to which they contributed? Was this individual a hands-on inventor, a business person, or both?

Stephanie was not exceptionally included in creating viable uses of Kevlar. Once senior DuPont supervisors were educated of the revelation, they promptly appointed an entire gathering to chip away at various angles. She additionally did not benefit from DuPont's items, as she marked over the Kevlar patent to the company.

Kevlar is utilized as material as a part of more than 200 applications, including tennis rackets, skis, water crafts, planes, ropes, links, tires, and shot verification vests. It has been utilized for auto tires, shoot contender boots, hockey sticks, cut-safe gloves, and even heavily clad autos. It has likewise been utilized for defensive building materials like evidence bomb materials, sea tempest safe rooms, and overburdened span reinforcements ("Kwolek Enters Hall Of Fame" 63). Amid the week of Stephanie's passing, the one millionth shot safe vest made with Kevlar was sold. Kevlar is additionally used to assemble cell phones; Motorola's Droid RAZR has a Kevlar unibody.

She was involved in a few ventures, including a quest for new polymers and also another buildup prepare that happens at lower temperaturesaround 0 to 40C. The melt buildup polymerization process utilized as a part of planning nylon, for instance, was rather done at more than 200C. The lower-temperature polycondensation forms, which utilize quick responding intermediates, make it conceivable to plan polymers that can't be softened and just start to deteriorate at temperatures above 4000C.

Kwolek was in her 40s when she was approached by DuPont to scout for the up and coming era of strands equipped for performing in great conditions (Stewart, p. 49). This task included getting ready intermediates, integrating fragrant polyamides of high sub-atomic weight, dissolving the polyamides in solvents, and turning these arrangements into strands. She out of the blue found that under certain conditions huge quantities of the particles of these poles like polyamides get to be lined up in parallel, that is, structure fluid crystalline arrangements, and that these arrangements can be spun straightforwardly into situated strands of high quality and firmness. These polyamide arrangements were not at all like any polymer arrangements beforehand arranged in the research center. They were strangely liquid, turbid, and buttermilk-like in appearance, and got to be opalescent when mixed. The individual accountable for the turning gear at first declined to turn the main such arrangement since he expected that the turbidity was brought on by the nearness of particles that would plug the small gaps (0.001 inches in breadth) in the spinneret. He was at last induced to turn, and much shockingly, solid, hardened strands were acquired with no trouble. Tailing this leap forward numerous filaments were spun from fluid crystalline arrangements, including the yellow Kevlar fiber.

References

Kwolek-Folland, A. "Gender And Business History". Enterprise and Society 2.1 (2001): 1-10. Web.

"Kwolek Enters Hall Of Fame". Materials Today 6.12 (2003): 63. Web.

Stewart, Gail B. Stephanie Kwolek. Detroit: KidHaven Press, 2009. Print.

Raftenberg, Martin N, Michael J Scheidler, and Paul Moy. Transverse Compression Response Of A Multi-Ply Kevlar Vest. Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD: Army Research Laboratory, 2004. Print.

Moran, James. Building Your Kevlar Canoe. Camden, Me.: Ragged Mountain Press/McGraw-Hill, 1995. Print.