Molecules: You'd better learn to live with them.
Inspired by Keith's comment on polylactic acid's tendency to deform under heat, and procrastination, I just did a quickie test of the heat-deformation characteristics of my polylactic acid bottle.
I took my PLA bottle and a cute little PET bottle I had lying around. I put some tap-hot water in the microwave and heated it up for awhile. After stirring to equilibrate the temperature, I measured it with my oh-so-cool noncontact thermometer, a Raytek Raynger ST-6, which I wouldn't own if it weren't for Jeffrey Steingarten's unintentional salesmanship (fortunately, by the time I got one, the model was about as dated as a PDP-8, so I think mine cost a few percent of what he paid). It was 168F/76C, so hotter than you'd ever encounter in a car (and maybe enough to even bring the PET above its Tg). I added a couple hundred mLs of water to each.
I love this thermometer. I am less thrilled with my ability to use available light.
I could never be a photographer because I'm too impatient/unskilled to get decent "before" shots. Deformation started immediately after addition of water. This is T+30 seconds or so
Another after shot. PET held up fine, eh? Deformation under gravity pretty much stopped here but the PLA was still deformable with manual pressure. T+2 minutes.
Back to work. See you tomorrow.
Comments
The Enviro-whiner trinity: Expensive, shoddy, deadly. "Shoddy" was the first recycled wool at the start of the Industrial Revolution. How well do you suppose that worked out? Also keep mungo and noils out of your fabric.
Do you want a kewl molecule? Icilin is a kewl molecule! Refereed literature plus US Pat. 3,821,221.
Posted by: Uncle Al | September 27, 2006 9:57 PM