Under the title “Thinking the Unthinkable”, Bayer Polymers (D-51368 Leverkusen; www.bayerpolymers.com) has published a 150-page book on the history of this versatile engineering plastic. Published by Dr. Gupta Verlag, it traces the history of polycarbonate – in particular Bayer´s “Makrolon” brand – from the laboratory to industrial-scale production and explains how, on account of its “numerous outstanding properties,” polycarbonate became a trend-setting application that led to new developments in materials, technology and products. An individual chapter is devoted to such additives as glass fibre for reinforcing, flame retardants, UV stabilisers and colorants.

The authors, many of them former colleagues of Bayer chemist and Makrolon inventor Dr. Hermann Schnell, who died in 1999, take a look at structure-modified polycarbonates and blends with other polymers such as ABS and also provide a comprehensive overview of the market for such typical polycarbonate applications as solid and multi-wall sheets, films, optical media and automotive glazing. A global look at market developments in polycarbonate rounds out the topics. This industrial success story, punctuated by numerous illustrations, could be an ideal answer to the question of what to give the busy plastics industry executive for Christmas this year.

Book Service: “Thinking the Unthinkable – 50 Years of Makrolon”, 2003, 144 pages, numerous illustrations, original price EUR 18.60, Order via: PIE-No. B 46220.