North Korea’s fabric made from stone(reuters.com)
reuters.com
North Korea’s fabric made from stone
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/northkorea-vinalon/
56 comments
And let's not forget asbestos, which is a naturally occurring mineral.
> “If war breaks out lots of sparks and bullets go back and forth.... Cotton tends to melt and vanish but vinalon burns you because it sticks to your skin,” Jung said. “The uniforms made of vinalon are not suitable for combat. When it rains, the uniforms soak up water and become very heavy, which inevitably makes it difficult for soldiers to move. After a while, the uniforms turn very stiff.”
So basically they are wearing flammable and stiffening clothing that defeats the very purpose of combat uniforms....how can a country like this even survive the first few days of war? More reasons for it to never give up its nuclear weapons.
So basically they are wearing flammable and stiffening clothing that defeats the very purpose of combat uniforms....how can a country like this even survive the first few days of war? More reasons for it to never give up its nuclear weapons.
The ( British ) Royal Navy issued nylon uniforms from the 1960s until the Falklands War. At which time they learned that in a fire those were responsible for horrific burns.
I believe they only issue cotton now, though my RAF shirts were still a cotton-nylon blend in the early 2000s.
I believe they only issue cotton now, though my RAF shirts were still a cotton-nylon blend in the early 2000s.
Per article, regular uniforms are not made from vinylon, only some custom orders from officers.
My USAF green "pickle suit" uniform in the 80's was made of polyester. And we knew that it would melt and stick to our skin in the event of a petroleum or electrical fire. Why did they ever make it from that material? It took a press well, so the creases were sharp. And it was cheap.
Actually, to anyone who knows industrial history this is purest clickbait. North Korea's poylvinyl alcohol fiber is indeed made from coal, but worldwide the chemical industry used coal until after World War 2.
The feedstocks would be acetylene (from carbide) and coal tar distillates. The enormous energy requirements of a carbide oven is why the American chemical industry settled near Buffalo, NY, that's where the Niagara Falls powerplant was.
The feedstocks would be acetylene (from carbide) and coal tar distillates. The enormous energy requirements of a carbide oven is why the American chemical industry settled near Buffalo, NY, that's where the Niagara Falls powerplant was.
The title is a little misleading - I was expecting cloth made from rockwool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6FWPTZjwLo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6FWPTZjwLo
Basalt fibers are another interesting example of fibers actually made from stone.
http://basfiber.com/products
http://basfiber.com/products
Misleading? The material is made from coal and limestone.
I agree it's misleading -- they're refining a coal-limestone carbide into petroleum and then making a nylon variant out of that.
My first thought was also that this must be something rockwool-like.
My first thought was also that this must be something rockwool-like.
That's like saying wool is made from sunlight. I mean, it started there, but there's a lot more to it.
They're harnessing the outcome of the Big Bang to make fabric for their people.
I was expecting something similar. I know of rockwool for it's insulative and sound absorption properties, I'd never thought of it as a fiber suitible for textiles. I was hoping to learn some intersting properties about rockwool fibers as a textile.
But I did learn about vinylon, so I got to learn something today.
But I did learn about vinylon, so I got to learn something today.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned asbestos yet. Asbestos is a mineral that is/was turned into fibers and fabrics [0]. My father even has a chunk of asbestos rock somewhere. It is relatively safe when not processed. It is the detached fibers that are most harmful.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos
> [Asbestos] is relatively safe when not processed
The WHO says "all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic to humans" [1]. The CDC specifically addresses "naturally occurring asbestos," which it finds "is only a health problem if it is disturbed," e.g. via "surface soil disturbance" [2].
[1] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs343/en/
[2] https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/noa/where_is_asbestos_found.html
The WHO says "all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic to humans" [1]. The CDC specifically addresses "naturally occurring asbestos," which it finds "is only a health problem if it is disturbed," e.g. via "surface soil disturbance" [2].
[1] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs343/en/
[2] https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/noa/where_is_asbestos_found.html
Carcinogenic isnt dangerous if it cant be breathed in, ya?
In other news water makes you drown when sufficiently submerged
In other news water makes you drown when sufficiently submerged
> Carcinogenic isnt dangerous if it cant be breathed in
OP said their father keeps a bulk of asbestos in their house. For it to get to the house, it had to be picked up and transported. Once there, there is a risk it jostles around or is impacted by something, e.g. due to objects falling on it or it falling on objects. Collecting and keeping asbestos in any form appears ill advised under WHO and CDC guidance.
OP said their father keeps a bulk of asbestos in their house. For it to get to the house, it had to be picked up and transported. Once there, there is a risk it jostles around or is impacted by something, e.g. due to objects falling on it or it falling on objects. Collecting and keeping asbestos in any form appears ill advised under WHO and CDC guidance.
I don't think a fingertip-sized chunk of asbestos in an old mason jar is going to be very dangerous.
I also drink alcohol and use leaded solder FWIW.
I also drink alcohol and use leaded solder FWIW.
The asbestos fibers have to get into your body in order to cause cancer so the physical form of the asbestos is very important.
Another data point: back in 1999 or 2000, my environmental geology professor in college mentioned a large exposed asbestos rock in a nearby playground that he considered a hazard to the children. He said he brought it up a city council meeting but could not convince them to move it.
My grade two class molded animals from water and asbestos fiber mixed together. Those were the days, eh. Didn't make really good animals, though.
How about blowing it into the air? My father had a book that instructed kids to do that. It was some sort of project book, with a title roughly similar to "Projects for Boys" or "The Boy Engineer". I'd love to know the exact title and maybe find the text.
The project in question was a volcano. It measured about 4 feet across and 2 feet tall. It was mostly made of chicken wire with paper mache. The crater was something like a large can containing a smaller can. I think the small can contained zinc and sulphur, which would burn to make suitably stinky smoke and fire. The other can contained loose powdered asbestos. A hose ran to it. You were supposed to blow into the hose, causing the asbestos to float up into the air like volcanic ash.
At least one other project in that book involved asbestos. It was a model airplane with a pulsejet engine.
The project in question was a volcano. It measured about 4 feet across and 2 feet tall. It was mostly made of chicken wire with paper mache. The crater was something like a large can containing a smaller can. I think the small can contained zinc and sulphur, which would burn to make suitably stinky smoke and fire. The other can contained loose powdered asbestos. A hose ran to it. You were supposed to blow into the hose, causing the asbestos to float up into the air like volcanic ash.
At least one other project in that book involved asbestos. It was a model airplane with a pulsejet engine.
The stain resistant qualities made me think it would make a good pack, and it already exists: https://www.fjallraven.com/guides/material-guides/vinylon-f
My past year of slime-making with my daughter educated me on the chemical name of Elmer's School Glue, aka Polyvinyl Acetate.
PVA is one of the steps in the vinylon process.
PVA is one of the steps in the vinylon process.
PVA is polyvinyl alcohol. Pretty stinky stuff- it’s used as a mold release for composite lay-ups, and is the active ingredient in certain prescription eye drops.
>PVA is polyvinyl alcohol.
I'd imagine this is a context-dependent acronym. Certainly, in public in the UK PVA refers to acetate, because it's a shorthand for glue.
I'd imagine this is a context-dependent acronym. Certainly, in public in the UK PVA refers to acetate, because it's a shorthand for glue.
The context in this case being the original posted article, which is polyvinyl alcohol, not acetate.
Both PVA's are steps in the synthesis so it's extra amusing this time. The vinyl acetate is polymerized to polyvinyl acetate (PVA) and then converted into an alcohol (also PVA) because the vinyl alcohol monomer isn't stable enough.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_alcohol
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_alcohol
Amazing but true. The scrawl on the board shows how they make vinyl monomers out of acetic acid derived from their carbide process, then PVAcetate, then PVAlcohol.
This whole article reminded me of paper made out of rock. Depressingly, it's still a fuel-based product.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_paper
This whole article reminded me of paper made out of rock. Depressingly, it's still a fuel-based product.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_paper
Yeah, I developed chemical processes to make monomers in my last job and was still surprised that they start from coal to do this. I didn't even realize there was a process from coal to acetylene, I just took it for granted that acetylene and acetate generally start from distillate or natural gas unless some bio-source is extremely convenient.
(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetylene#Preparation)
"Until the 1950s, when oil supplanted coal as the chief source of reduced carbon, acetylene (and the aromatic fraction from coal tar) was the main source of organic chemicals in the chemical industry. It was prepared by the hydrolysis of calcium carbide, a reaction discovered by Friedrich Wöhler in 1862[17] and still familiar to students:
(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetylene#Preparation)
"Until the 1950s, when oil supplanted coal as the chief source of reduced carbon, acetylene (and the aromatic fraction from coal tar) was the main source of organic chemicals in the chemical industry. It was prepared by the hydrolysis of calcium carbide, a reaction discovered by Friedrich Wöhler in 1862[17] and still familiar to students:
CaC2 + 2H2O → Ca(OH)2 + C2H2
Well, till not so long ago (the 1950s and 1960s) it was not so uncommon in rural areas (not served by electricity or gas) to have carbide lamps as a source of lighting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbide_lamp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbide_lamp
Ha ha, slime. I bought a tub of PVA for my daughter, and now she is branching into bath bombs.
They're using Soviet and Communist words interchangeably. However I'm not sure it's accurate, and whether any of communist regimes outside USSR called themself soviet.
Note that North Korea dropped 'communist' word altogether aroud two decades ago. Now it's Juche state.
Note that North Korea dropped 'communist' word altogether aroud two decades ago. Now it's Juche state.
Rebranding is a thing.
“Under Japanese rule,” “at the time, North Korea was a part of Japan”...
Even during the lawful occupations of Japan and Germany, those countries are not referred to as “part of America” or “under British rule.”
Why the euphemism for Japan’s horrific and moreover unlawful occupation of Korea?
Even during the lawful occupations of Japan and Germany, those countries are not referred to as “part of America” or “under British rule.”
Why the euphemism for Japan’s horrific and moreover unlawful occupation of Korea?
Perhaps because Japan officially and intentionally annexed Korea during that time, where American occupations were explicitly only occupations?
I find all these stories of North Korea fascinating. The USSR and China both realized that free markets are a better system and adjusted accordingly. North Korea just seems to keep betting on a system that's broken.
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. North Korea is under incredible sanctions, and South Korea's embracing of the free market is considered to be an economic miracle made possible only by multiple headwinds, and some solid good luck.
China can hardly be called a free market, by the way.
China can hardly be called a free market, by the way.
Well, we can debate the definition of a free market forever. We (in the US) tend to define "free market" as whatever benefits the corporations that buy the lobbyists. They sometimes like to slip in silly protectionist laws.
Read up on the chicken tax and the incident with Kerrygold butter in Wisconsin.
More recent examples are how the telcos got net neutrality repealed, the media companies strengthening copyright, and Trump loosening EPA restrictions. Those aren't really "free market" moves, but called free market by the parties who benefit from them.
Read up on the chicken tax and the incident with Kerrygold butter in Wisconsin.
More recent examples are how the telcos got net neutrality repealed, the media companies strengthening copyright, and Trump loosening EPA restrictions. Those aren't really "free market" moves, but called free market by the parties who benefit from them.
Hmm, this seems relevant: http://fpif.org/kicking_away_the_ladder_the_real_history_of_....
Design / typesetting here is fantastic
I like how the big quotes that separate up the paragraph aren't repeated elsewhere in the text like many similar sites seem to do!
I feel the opposite way — it’s breaking the old magazine convention that pullout quotes are merely highlights for quick browsing, and it feels disorienting that there’s new information in these design elements.
Pullout quotes have always been silly, they never have enough context to use as skimming material either
Designers like pullout quotes because they break up the monotony of body copy, and you can use fancy display fonts on them. Consequently they make pages look more "expensive" to readers simply by association with more thoughtful design.
I initially skipped the quotes because I'm used to them being repeated.
transparent propaganda piece to test public opinion on West/NK policy
Please don't post unsubstantive comments here.
No wonder the fans gear up - huge embedded autoplay video somewhere way below the fold.
http://basfiber.com/products