One Slippery Character

Tools come and go from my tool box, but there are a few things that have been consistent across the years: a cresent wrench from my father (with his name engraved on the side); a straight-jaw channel lock I found in the middle of the street one day with John Torresan while we were riding our bikes; bailing wire, which has been useful more times than I can even remember; and a roll of thread seal tape, better known as Teflon tape.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. The best known brand name of PTFE-based formulas is Teflon by Chemours (a spin-off of DuPont, which discovered the compound in 1938). NASA also raised the celebrity status of Teflon when the Agency applied it to heat shields, space suits, and cargo hold liners. Today, the major application of PTFE, consuming about 50% of production, is for wiring in aerospace and computer applications (e.g. hookup wire, coaxial cables).

This week, a look at Teflon.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "When you're through changing, you're through." - Bruce Fairchild Barton (American author, advertising executive, and politician, 1886 – 1967)

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