Summary: n 1927, the Du Pont chemical company invited chemist Wallace Carothers to lead a research team to invent a new synthetic material. Carothers wanted to make a fiber as soft and strong as silk. Since raising silkworms for silk production is difficult and expensive, Carothers hoped to make a substitute that could be mass-produced. Learn more on this Moment of Science.<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast?a=hZzrZvwOLhs:jfByfBJn9EI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast?a=hZzrZvwOLhs:jfByfBJn9EI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast?i=hZzrZvwOLhs:jfByfBJn9EI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast?a=hZzrZvwOLhs:jfByfBJn9EI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast?i=hZzrZvwOLhs:jfByfBJn9EI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast?a=hZzrZvwOLhs:jfByfBJn9EI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast?a=hZzrZvwOLhs:jfByfBJn9EI:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast?i=hZzrZvwOLhs:jfByfBJn9EI:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast?a=hZzrZvwOLhs:jfByfBJn9EI:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/WfiuAMomentOfSciencePodcast/~4/hZzrZvwOLhs" height="1" width="1">
