Leo Baekeland announced Bakelite - February 8, 1909

On this day in 1909, Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland announced his invention of Bakelite to the public.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class. It's a production of I
Heart Radio. Hey y'all, I'm Eves and you're listening to
This Day in History Class, a podcast for people interested
in the big and small moments in history. Today is
February eighth. The day was February eighth, nineteen o nine,

(00:28):
Belgian chemist Leo Bakeland announced his invention of bake light
to the public. Bake Light was the first truly synthetic resin.
Bakeland was born in Ghent, Belgium, in eighteen sixty three.
He got his Bachelor of Science at the University of Ghent,
and a couple of years later he received his Doctorate
of Science. Bakeland invented Velox photographic paper, and by the

(00:52):
late nineteenth century he was wealthy. He sold his Velox
paper rights to Eastman Kodak for a million dollars, and
at that point he moved into his snug Rock estate
in Yonker's, New York. There he had a home laboratory
where he worked with his assistant Nathaniel Thurlow. In the lab,
Bakeland began experimenting with combinations of phenol and formaldehyde. Years

(01:17):
earlier scientists experimenting with the substances reported that the combination
formed a hard material. Other chemists had been working with
phenol and formaldehyde to create a material that could compete
commercially with celluloyd, but they were unsuccessful. Bakland and Thurlow
began working on creating a synthetic shellac, since natural shellac

(01:40):
was in short supply. Shellac was used to insulate electrical cables,
but since it was made from a resident secreted by
a bug, there wasn't enough of it to meet demand.
They did create a phenol formaldehyde shellac called novoalak, but
it flopped. They switched gears to creating a synthetic resin
that could infused in wood to strengthen it. Bakerland started

(02:03):
writing in a new laboratory notebook in June of nineteen
oh seven, documenting the test using the mixture on wood.
In his June nineteenth entry, he wrote the following in part.
All these tests were conducted and concentrated horizontal digester, and
the apparatus was reasonably tight. Yet the surface of the
blocks of wood does not feel hard, although a small

(02:26):
part of gum that has oozed out is very hard.
At first, he called the substance substance d, but soon
he began referring to it as bakelite with two a's.
In a lecture he gave to the New York section
of the American Chemical Society on February eighth, nineteen o nine,
Bakerland announced his invention. In it, he said, by the

(02:47):
use of small amounts of basses, I have succeeded in
preparing a solid initial condensation product, the properties of which
simplify enormously all molding operations. Bakelan took out more than
four hundred patterns related to bake light. He started a
production in his laboratory using a machine called a bacalizer

(03:08):
that subjected early stages of the product to heat and pressure,
but when demands got higher, he formed a company to
manufacture and market his product. Bakelight was easily molded and
less expensive to make than celluloid. It also kept his
shape once it was molded. At first, bakelit was used
in the automotive and electrical industries and products like radios

(03:31):
and light bulb sockets, but soon it proved useful for accessories, jewelry,
and household items. The bakelight was eventually outclassed by other materials.
The invention of bake light kick started a wave that
made synthetic plastics ubiquitous and households and businesses everywhere. I'm
each Chef Coote and hopefully you know a little more

(03:53):
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(04:14):
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