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celluloid Article

celluloid summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see celluloid.

celluloid , Name for the first synthetic plastic material, developed in 1869. Made of a colloid of cellulose nitrate (nitrocellulose) plasticized with camphor, it is tough, cheap to produce, and resistant to water, oils, and dilute acids. It found a great variety of uses in combs, films, toys, and many other mass-produced consumer goods. Though it has been replaced in many uses by nonflammable synthetic polymers (originally cellulose acetate and Bakelite, then a host of others), it is still manufactured and used.