DuPont Co. summary

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DuPont Co., in full E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., U.S. chemical, coatings, and fibre manufacturer. The company was founded near Wilmington, Del., in 1802 by a French immigrant, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours, son of the eminent economist Pierre-Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817). The company originally manufactured gunpowder and other explosives. It was incorporated in 1899 after nearly a century as a partnership, after which it began to diversify its product line, partly through extensive acquisitions. DuPont developed nitrocellulose plastics in 1915 and synthetic rubber in 1931 and later developed the fibres nylon, Orlon, Dacron, Kevlar, and Lycra, as well as Mylar film and Teflon resin, among many other synthetics. The company was run by the Du Pont family until World War II. Today it is a highly diverse conglomerate with interests in chemicals, agriculture, electronics, and packaging.

plastic Summary

Plastic, polymeric material that has the capability of being molded or shaped, usually by the application of heat and pressure. This property of plasticity, often found in combination with other special properties such as low density, low electrical conductivity, transparency, and toughness, allows

coal miner loading a drill hole with an explosive

explosive Summary

Explosive, any substance or device that can be made to produce a volume of rapidly expanding gas in an extremely brief period. There are three fundamental types: mechanical, nuclear, and chemical. A mechanical explosive is one that depends on a physical reaction, such as overloading a container

corporation Summary

Corporation, specific legal form of organization of persons and material resources, chartered by the state, for the purpose of conducting business. As contrasted with the other two major forms of business ownership, the sole proprietorship and the partnership, the corporation is distinguished by a