Please bear with one more factoid.  Formica's derivation is
not from mica, although mica flakes have been used as
decoration in it.  The word is derived from formic acid, one
of the components in the plastic of which it is made.

alice



> Here endith the lession........
>
> Informative, Interesting, and to the point.
>
> Bravo.
>
> John C.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Don Hyde [mailto:DonH@AXONN.COM]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2001 9:52 AM
> To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Subject: Re: [OT]: What's "mica" ?
>
>
> Mica is a naturally occurring, and fairly common mineral.  It is clear
> and
> shiny and cleaves easily into thin sheets.  It has a long history of use
> as
> an insulator in the electronics industry.  Since it is cheap, stable,
> not
> known to be toxic, and shiny, it is also frequently used as an
> ingredient in
> shiny "metal flake" paints, which could probably more properly be known
> as
> "mica flake".
>
> It has been used as an insulator in capacitors, and as the insulating
> supports in vacuum tubes.  Check your local museum or rock musician's
> supply
> of vacuum tubes and look inside.  You will see flat, slightly
> cloudy-looking
> transparent sheets supporting the various metallic parts inside.  That
> is
> mica.
>
> The best supplies are in South America (and possibly Africa as well).
> At
> the beginning of WWII, it was worried that U-boats might cut off these
> supplies, so a research effort was mounted to find a synthetic
> substitute.
> The result was named Formica, since it was a substitute "for mica".
>
> The U-boats were less successful than Hitler hoped, the natural
> substance
> had somewhat better properties, and besides, that's what everyone was
> used
> to working with, so the new material was not needed for vacuum tubes.
>
> When the Queen Mary was pressed into service to carry troops across the
> Atlantic (my father was one of those), her owners asked that the fine
> wood
> paneling be removed for safekeeping, and some sort of substitute be
> installed in its place.  The engineers who had created Formica, and the
> company they worked for, saw an opportunity, and demonstrated their
> ability
> to print a wood grain onto their new manmade material.
>
> Tens of thousands of US soldiers saw those synthetically-panelled walls,
> and
> saw them survive tens of thousands of soldiers.  So when the war was
> over
> and they were offered the same material for their new kitchen counters,
> they
> bought it in huge quantities.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Jinx [mailto:joecolquitt@CLEAR.NET.NZ]
> > Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2001 1:23 AM
> > To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> > Subject: [OT]: What's "mica" ?
> >
> >
> > I'm looking at various protective finishes for boxes and need
> > to know if the "mica" I've seen on some US sites is the same
> > as what I know as Formica or melamine
> >
> > ta
> >
> > --
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> >
> >
>
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