Pet Sounds: What is an Album? / History of Recorded Sound / History of Polyvinyl Chloride / Vinyl Records: LPs and 45s / Album Conventions / Health and Environmental Issues / Downfall of Vinyl Records
Polyvinyl Chloride was discovery in 1835 by Henri Victor Regnault who did not patent it or find any use for it. PVC was rediscovered by multiple scientists but it wasn’t until 1926 when Waldo Semon, a B.F. Goodrich employee, mixed it with other materials that it became useful.
In the polymerization of vinyl chloride, the double bond is broken into a single bond and the two remaining electrons rearrange to the other side of the carbon atoms to create a place to connect more monomers.
The Vinyl Chloride Monomer:
A Polyvinyl Chloride chain:
Because of its strucutre Polyvinyl Chloride is an ideal plastic for many things including records.