Particle accelerators turn plastic into shrink wrap

particle accelerators

Particle accelerators tie molecules of plastic together

If you bought a turkey this Thanksgiving, you have particle accelerators to thank for its freshness. For decades now the food industry has used particle accelerators to produce the sturdy, heat-shrinkable film that turkeys come wrapped in. Shrink wrap is also used in many other industries such as manufacturing, pharmaceutical, biopharma, and anywhere a product needs to be secured or protected.

“Particle accelerators tie the molecules of plastic together and make the film tougher mechanically. It doesn’t crack or tear,” says Marshall Cleland, a technical advisor at IBA Industrial, an international company that has been manufacturing particle accelerators for commercial use since 1988.

Understanding how accelerators give cross-linked shrink film its unique properties requires a refresher course in chemistry.

Heat-shrinkable film—commonly known as shrink wrap—is made of polyethylene plastic. The plastic molecules, called polymers, are long chains of carbon atoms strung together like pearls. Each carbon atom also connects with two hydrogen atoms, leaving it no room to bond with anything else.

“The fully saturated carbon had its full meal, including dessert, and becomes chemically inert,” Cleland says. “If you heat it to the boiling point of water, it will turn into a syrupy mess.”

However, when hit with a beam of electrons from a particle accelerator, the plastic’s polymer strings become chemically active.

Read the entire article


See products for material testing and physical testing

Related Articles

For National Chemistry Week: Universities Leverage the Power of Compact NMR Spectroscopy to Teach Chemistry and Applied Sciences Students

 

Be the first to comment on "Particle accelerators turn plastic into shrink wrap"

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: