Ian Johnson, age 14, of Galveston, Texas, for his question:
WHO INVENTED CELLOPHANE?
Cellophane is a flexible, thin, moisture resistant material that is made from plant fibers. It is used to package products that need protection from moisture. It was invented in 1908 by Jacques Brandenberger, a Swiss chemist.
Brandenberger was trying to invent a stainproof tablecloth. He produced a smooth and shiny cloth, but it was brittle and could not be used. Later, he made a thin sheet of transparent film and applied it to the cloth.
In 1911, Brandenberger designed a machine to produce the film he called "cellophane." The first cellophane was used only to wrap luxury goods.
The cellophane industry grew rapidly after wrapping machines and moistureproof cellophane were developed in the 1930s. By the early 1960s, the cellophane industry in the United States reached its peak with more than 400 million pounds produced annually.
The use of cellophane started to decline in the mid 1960s because of strong competition from plastics and other flexible packaging materials.
Cellophane is made from cellulose, a substance found in plant fibers. A special chemical process is used to obtain the cellulose from wood and this is then mixed with carbon disulfide. The mixture is then dissolved in caustic soda to form a sticky liquid called viscose.
The viscose flows through long slits to form thin sheets of liquid, which then drop into sulfuric acid. The acid changes the sheets of liquid into cellophane.
Machines then dip the cellophane into liquids that remove impurities from the product and make it flexible. Next, the cellophane is dried.
About 35 percent of the cellophane made in the U.S. today is used to package products. Cellophane forms attractive packages because it has a shiny appearance and can be printed with labels and decorative designs.
Manufacturers use nontransparent cellophane bags to package such snack foods as potato chips and pretzels. Transparent cellophane protects some candy products and many other products.
Cellophane can be laminated to aluminum foil or paper to form special wrapping materials. _
Other products made of cellophane include drinking straws, envelopes, ribbons and sticky tape used for mending and sealing.
Most cellophane is transparent and either colorless or tinted into one of a number of soft colors. Nontransparent cellophane is often made with bright colors.
Most cellophane is extremely thin. It is usually only one one thousandth of an inch thick.