National Teflon Day is on April 6, and we are set to celebrate a great discovery in technology that has made life easy for us.
This chemical-, heat-, and cold-resistant material has revolutionized the manufacturing and production of various products. As a non-stick material, Teflon is very versatile in its uses, from medicine, weapon making, cooking utensils, and more.
Many people prefer Teflon-coated products due to their ability to last over a long period. Its impact is a watershed in technology, making it worthy of celebration. And that is why a special day has been set aside to appreciate its existence in our ever-growing technical world.
Cooking can be a very tedious task. The whole process of frying, steaming, boiling, grilling, and every step that goes into making the delicious meals that we so much love can be exhausting. And then begins the more grueling task of scrubbing and cleaning all the utensils, which would have grease, oil, and numerous stains stuck to them and can take a long time to become stain-free.
Teflon is the name for ‘Polytetrafluoroethylene’ (P.T.F.E.), a popularly used polymer. It is an industrial coating used by engineers to layer materials and utensils to prevent and protect them from chemicals, corrosion, grease, oil, and other staining agents upon the surface of the materials. Discovered accidentally by Dr. Roy Plunkett while working in a laboratory to produce a refrigerant, he noticed that grease and several other substances could not stick on the surface of Teflon.
The laboratory where he worked, Chemours Jackson Laboratory patented the finding, but subsequently, Teflon was incorporated by a professor, Marion A. Trozzolo to coat his scientific utensils. Trozzolo later introduced it into kitchen utensils, founding a company named Laboratory Plasticware Fabricators, which introduced the first U.S.-made Teflon coated frying pan — the ‘Happy Pan.’
Today, Teflon can be found in the least expected places. It is used for coating medical and laboratory equipment, for making bullets, aircraft protection, pharmaceutical purposes, and more. In our homes, Teflon is used to coat the pans, pots, and cooking utensils used in the kitchen, saving us from the stress of washing and rigorously scrubbing while cleaning them.
