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00:00:25 From the Middle Ages down to modern times, the magic of chemistry has fascinated mankind.

00:00:33 And to the boy of today, the subject is even more exciting, for this is the age of industrial

00:00:39 chemistry.

00:00:40 With vastly widened application of chemical research in manufacturing, it has attained

00:00:45 importance undreamed of just a few years ago.

00:00:49 All around us are the products of modern chemistry.

00:00:53 Window shades, draperies, upholstery, and furniture, all are made of or covered with

00:01:04 something that came out of a test tube.

00:01:08 Radio cabinets, tabletops, and hundreds of other useful articles are made of new plastics

00:01:14 created in the chemist's laboratory.

00:01:17 Chemistry takes a hand in the very clothes we wear.

00:01:21 Rayon is a luxurious fabric developed from the cellulose fibers of trees and plants.

00:01:29 Would you believe that the leftover fuzz of cottonseeds is used to make the material which

00:01:36 forms the backs of mirrors, combs, and brushes?

00:01:40 Yes, the lowly cottonseed, through a chemical process, is turned into something much prettier

00:01:46 than ivory that can be made in all the colors of the rainbow.

00:01:52 But unlike natural ivory, this material won't crack or discolor with age.

00:02:02 Chemistry is responsible, too, for the gossamer-like threads of these new stockings.

00:02:07 By a miracle of modern science, such commonplace things as coal, water, and air have been transformed

00:02:16 into threads more elastic than silk, spun from filaments even finer than those of a

00:02:23 spider's web, yet many times as strong.

00:02:30 Rain, then it's chemistry to the rescue.

00:02:38 Something that came out of a test tube is going to protect her from that shower.

00:02:44 Here, folded into a compact little package, is a transparent raincoat, rainproof like

00:02:51 rubber.

00:02:57 Of a similar material are some of the new umbrellas and parasols, combining utility

00:03:03 with beauty of design and color.

00:03:09 Now let it rain.

00:03:14 Among other chemical processes come refrigerants that keep foods fresh, wrappings that keep

00:03:22 things clean, insulation and wallboard to improve our buildings.

00:03:29 Nature constantly wears away its own.

00:03:32 Left to themselves, materials eventually decay.

00:03:37 The pitted side of a rock, the rotting wood of a fence post, and the rusting odds and

00:03:44 ends in the neighborhood junkyard, all bear testimony to the destructive forces of air,

00:03:51 wind, and water.

00:03:54 Cleopatra's needle, the famous Egyptian obelisk in Central Park, New York, is centuries old.

00:04:01 Over all these years, nature's forces have attacked the stone.

00:04:06 But now it has been sprayed with a finish that will preserve the famous stone pillar

00:04:11 for centuries to come.

00:04:14 Chemistry has also taken a hand in the preservation of wood.

00:04:18 In this great laboratory at Madison, Wisconsin, the United States Forest Service has conducted

00:04:24 more than half a million experiments, not only to find new uses for wood, but to lengthen

00:04:31 its life.

00:04:33 And now fence posts, telegraph poles, any wooden product used outdoors will do a better

00:04:40 job of defying the elements.

00:04:44 Another natural product made better by chemistry is rubber.

00:04:49 Years of research were necessary in order to improve the product, and then testing in

00:04:55 great machines, subjecting it to terrific punishment.

00:05:01 Today rubber products are tougher and stronger and have a longer life.

00:05:07 Longer life has been given the gasoline engine too.

00:05:10 For years, engineers were puzzled when certain engine parts like piston pins and valve stems

00:05:16 became corroded and prematurely worn.

00:05:21 The engineers called upon the chemists who traced the corrosion to sulfuric acid fumes

00:05:26 formed in the engine.

00:05:29 As a result of their studies, this ventilating system was developed to draw clean air through

00:05:34 the engine, carrying off the harmful fumes and giving our automobiles a longer, useful life.

00:05:43 The prevention of rust is another concern of the industrial chemist.

00:05:48 Here we see what happens when an ordinary nail is left outdoors for a long period.

00:05:53 As time goes on, the iron returns to its natural form, iron oxide, just plain rust to you and me.

00:06:02 Studies of the action of rust by means of microscopic photography and many experiments

00:06:08 resulted in the development of rust-proofing operations for metals.

00:06:14 Automobile bodies, for instance, are sprayed with a chemical that helps the metal to resist the elements.

00:06:20 Bodies and fenders are treated so they'll resist the action of moisture.

00:06:25 Then there's the surface finish of the automobile, subjected to all kinds of weather, to mud, water, and sand,

00:06:34 to soot and smoke from city chimneys, which cover the surface with a film of gritty, scratching particles.

00:06:42 Snow, rain, or sleet do their best to dull the gloss.

00:06:47 And even in clear weather, there's always the gentle dew, another enemy of the finish.

00:06:53 But chemical research has developed a finish to resist such attacks.

00:06:58 Panels of metal covered with different types of finish are constantly tested in special machines.

00:07:06 Thirty hours in this machine under strong ultraviolet rays is equal to a solid year under the burning rays of a tropical sun.

00:07:18 Now the test panels are placed in the weatherometer.

00:07:23 Here they are subjected to another ultraviolet ray treatment under intense heat.

00:07:28 The machine revolves hour after hour, and each test panel gets a bath with every revolution, as well as intense light and heat.

00:07:40 From the heat of the weatherometer, the test panels go into the sub-freezing temperature of a special refrigerator.

00:07:49 Then the finish on each panel is examined.

00:07:53 Constant experiment has shown which finishes are the best.

00:07:57 And the result of years of patient chemical research is the surface finish used on today's most modern cars,

00:08:05 combining with its protective qualities the radiance of sparkling colors.

00:08:11 The automobile of today is a thing of beauty.

00:08:16 Yes, chemistry has changed the world we live in.

00:08:19 From wells deep in the ground, from the mine, the forest, and the farm,

00:08:32 come the materials which are being transformed into all manner of new products.

00:08:38 Great things have been done, but much more remains to be accomplished.

00:08:44 Some young man, perhaps one watching this very picture, may develop a startling new formula from a test tube experiment,

00:08:52 may give the world finer things to use, to wear, to better man's health.

00:08:59 In this new world of industrial chemistry, the horizon is unlimited, unexplored potentialities beggar.

00:09:08 The hidden secrets of nature sound a call to this young man, the industrial chemist, the pioneer of tomorrow.