The past and present of silicone rubber: Apollo moon landing and breast augmentation technology

In 1945, it was found that after the high degree of polymerization of silicone and silica, the resulting silicone rubber performed better. For high-molecular polymers such as rubber, the glass transition temperature is an important index. Generally, it is expressed by Tg. Below the glass transition temperature, the polymer will change from a high-elastic state to a glassy state, and the elastic rubber will change. Made into a very brittle plastic. For example, polyvinyl chloride has a glass transition temperature of -81 degrees, styrene-butadiene rubber is -56 degrees, and silicone rubber has a glass transition temperature of -120 degrees, which means that silicone rubber can withstand lower temperatures, such as Apolloden. month. The moon's surface temperature is as low as -180 degrees. Without silicone rubber, it can't withstand such low temperatures. In the future, human beings will have to go to a farther space, and they will have to wear spacesuits containing silicone rubber.
The greater advantage of silicone is that it is based on silicon and is incompatible with carbon-based human body, so it is physiologically inert to the human body. This allows silicone rubber to be used in many places around us, such as babies. nipple.

Another characteristic of silicones is that they are oil-free and therefore easy to clean, so they are used to make a variety of children's toys.

A heart of beauty, everyone has it, especially for women. At the end of the 19th century, people developed the technique of breast augmentation surgery. The earliest used fillers were ivory, glass ball, bovine cartilage and so on. Until 1961, American plastic surgeons Thomas Cronin and Frank Jero invented the method of filling silicone rubber with Dow Corning, also known as Cronin-Jero filling. Silicone rubber can do the same as the softness of the human body, and it does not react with the human body, so it is the ideal breast augmentation filler.

In 1991, a US Newsweek survey revealed the fact that people who worked in the breast augmentation industry had been through animal experiments as early as 10 years ago to realize the possible link between silicone rubber fillers and diseases such as cancer. On January 10, 1992, 400,000 women jointly sued the manufacturer of silicone rubber: Dow Corning. They all used the silicone rubber breast augmentation to replace the appearance of the satisfaction, is the beneficiary of this technology, but in this incident was tempted by lawyers, in order to make huge compensation for the court.

The incident forced Dow Corning to compensate women with breast implants for $3.2 billion, and directly led to the company’s bankruptcy protection for nine years.

Since then, the breast augmentation industry has always existed, and silicone breast augmentation technology is still the most mature and most popular. Although Dow Corning ceased to operate the silicone rubber breast augmentation business, other companies have been operating this business. Over time, a large number of documents, including the American Institute of Medicine, have shown that silicone rubber is not directly related to diseases such as cancer. Dow Corning is the most bad luck company! A snake was bitten for ten years and was afraid of the rope. Until now, Dow Corning has not returned to the silicone rubber breast augmentation market.
[Several silicone breast augmentation techniques, the difference is whether the muscle is filled outside the muscle or muscle. 】

In order to get beautiful patterns on our clothes, such as personalized t-shirts, printing techniques are often used. Many printed materials are not breathable and can be uncomfortable to wear on the body. Silicone has a very outstanding advantage, and its breathability is very good. Therefore, the use of liquid silicone rubber printed on the logo and other patterns of the clothes is both beautiful and durable, waterproof and stain-resistant, and more comfortable.

[There are more polyethylene and PVC for wire and cable. If silicone rubber is used, it is more perfect, because silicone rubber is absolutely non-conductive, and it is also resistant to cold and high temperature. 】

All of the silicone rubbers mentioned above require high temperature curing, so they are also called high temperature adhesives (HTV). Other silicone rubbers can be cured at room temperature, also known as room temperature glue (RTV). The surface tension of silicone is extremely low, and it is easy to spread. After being made into rubber, it can quickly fill the gap at the place where the object is in contact, which acts as a seal and is an ideal material for the sealant. This is everywhere around us, and the glass glue used in home decoration is this silicone sealant.