Bulletproof vests, suits and spaceships, formula one helmets and sports clothing, protective equipment of all kinds, tires … we can find Kevlar in many of these products. This polyamide was first synthesized in 1965 by Polish-American chemist Stephanie Kwolek. Kevlar, as it was named (polyparaphenylene terephthalamide), is a high-strength, yellow-colored fiber that Kwolek invented while working at the DuPont company.
He had been tasked with creating the next generation of super durable fibers, and after dissolving multiple polymers in solvents and then spinning them into one fiber , he discovered that polyamide molecules would line up in parallel under certain conditions, and the resulting solution could be spun. in an incredibly durable, lightweight fabric. The synthetic kevlar fiber was born. Kwolek registered 17 patents in her lifetime and was even the fourth woman to earn a spot in the National Inventors' Hall of Fame.
Other inventions devised by women are : the dishwasher, the coffee filter, the non-reflective glass, the GPS, the COBOL language, the hydrazine propulsion system, the ice cream maker, the aquarium, the portable X-ray, the tipp -ex, fiber optic cable, flat bottom paper bag or VoIP.
