Crossword clues for thermoplastic
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
a. softening when heated and hardening when cooled n. A plastic with this property.
WordNet
adj. having the property of softening or fusing when heated and of hardening and becoming rigid again when cooled; "thermoplastic materials can be remelted and cooled time after time without undergoing any appreciable chemical change" [ant: thermosetting]
n. a material that softens when heated and hardens again when cooled [syn: thermoplastic resin]
Wikipedia
A thermoplastic, or thermosoftening plastic, is a plastic material, polymer, that becomes pliable or moldable above a specific temperature and solidifies upon cooling.
Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains associate through intermolecular forces, which weaken rapidly with increased temperature, yielding a viscous liquid. Thus, thermoplastics may be reshaped by heating and are typically used to produce parts by various polymer processing techniques such as injection molding, compression molding, calendering, and extrusion. Thermoplastics differ from thermosetting polymers, which form irreversible chemical bonds during the curing process. Thermosets do not melt, but decompose and do not reform upon cooling.
Above its glass transition temperature, T, and below its melting point, T, the physical properties of a thermoplastic change drastically without an associated phase change.
Some thermoplastics do not fully crystallize below the glass transition temperature T, retaining some or all of their amorphous characteristics. Amorphous and semi-amorphous plastics are used when high optical clarity is necessary, as light is scattered strongly by crystallites larger than its wavelength. Amorphous and semi-amorphous plastics are less resistant to chemical attack and environmental stress cracking because they lack a crystalline structure.
Brittleness can be decreased with the addition of plasticizers, which increases the mobility of amorphous chain segments to effectively lower T. Modification of the polymer through copolymerization or through the addition of non-reactive side chains to monomers before polymerization can also lower T. Before these techniques were employed, plastic automobile parts would often crack when exposed to cold temperatures.
Usage examples of "thermoplastic".
The knife was seven inches of high carbon steel with a hand-honed, razor-sharp, triple-peaked, serrated edge fitted into a slip-resistant thermoplastic elastomer handle.
The door panel was thermoplastic foam with a slick surface coating, no real obstacle.
Reality is thermoplastic, not thermosetting, you know: I mean you can reprogram it much more than people realize.
As he lowered himself, he reached over and replaced the grate, shoving it up against the sturdy black thermoplastic casing of the winch, which would not be obtrusive at a distance.
Fragments of thermoplastic and electronic components prickled his skin.
It continued to work on the sand castle it had been building, an elegant edifice of circuits and shifters, sculpted components and thermoplastic armature, accurately rendered in a turgid blend of sand and water.
They were made of thermoplastic, so it was easy enough to shape them as required, with throat and nozzle.
Chief Haendl joined him at the fire, carrying a thermoplastic scrap heated and dented into a bucket.
Taskerville were colorful prefabs of reinforced thermoplastic, one or two stories high.
It was exactly the same as the Universal, except that its third story was of thermoplastic and had been added after the original construction.
When the broken forearm was a few millimeters longer than the other, he shut off the heat and the thermoplastic splint automatically set and snugged into the cushioning.
When the cigarette burned down to the cord, the thermoplastic would melt through with great enthusiasm.
Then she too walked away, leaving the studio via a slit in a thermoplastic wall.
After coaxing his boots on under his wet trousers, he went to a door in the corner of the studio where the window-wall met one of the thermoplastic walls.
A giant globe crept through a slit in the thermoplastic wall and floated to the center of the studio.