Plastics and Polymers – The Miracle Material We Can't Put Down
Plastics are so useful, cheap and durable that they transformed the twentieth century — and so long-lasting that they've become one of the defining environmental problems of the twenty-first. This episode explains what plastics actually are at the molecular level, why the very properties that make them wonderful also make them a waste nightmare, and what the science says about the problem and the possible ways out.
You'll come away understanding what a polymer is, why long-chain molecules are so strong and versatile, why most plastics don't break down, what microplastics are, and why…
The skinny
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