A mixture of casein and
celluloid has something of the merits of both.
The Japanese, as we should expect, are using the juice of the soy bean,
familiar as a condiment to all who patronize chop-sueys or use
Worcestershire sauce. The soy glucine coagulated by formalin gives a
plastic said to be better and cheaper than celluloid. Its inventor, S.
Sato, of Sendai University, has named it, according to American
precedent, "Satolite," and has organized a million-dollar Satolite
Company at Mukojima.
The algin extracted from the Pacific kelp can be used as a rubber
surrogate for water-proofing cloth. When combined with heavier alkaline
bases it forms a tough and elastic substance that can be rolled into
transparent sheets like celluloid or turned into buttons and knife
handles.
In Australia when the war shut off the supply of tin the Government
commission appointed to devise means of preserving fruits recommended
the use of cardboard containers varnished with "magramite." This is a
name the Australians coined for synthetic resin made from phenol and
formaldehyde like bakelite.
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