Artificial fibers are made of natural materials transformed by chemical substances. These materials come from wood pulp, other forms of cellulose, or cotton down. These artificial fibers include viscose rayon, cupro-rayon, modal rayon and acetate rayon.

SYNTHETIC FIBERS

    Not only its beaty but also its cost encouraged many scientists to create a fiber similar to silk. In 1664 the British scientist Robert Hook suggested the possibility of creating a similar substance, but 200 years passed till the French scientist Hilaire de Chardonnet began to produce artificial fibers, firstly known as artificial silk: in 1924, this name was changed to rayon.
    Chardonnet process consisted in forcing a viscous liquid to pass along little nozzles and harden it by a chemical bath. This process keeps on being the basic process to produce synthetic fibers from oil derivatives.
    Later some other synthetic fibers as nylon, polyester, polyamide, acrylics or polyurethane appeared.
   

    Nylon includes a set of synthetic fibers firstly made in 1938. Naylon fibers are mainly used in textile industry, but also in joints, hinges, belts, wires, filters, decoration and sport materials (fishing threads, nets, parachutes, ropes... ).