Bibliothèque de L'IMIST/CNRST

Knowledge is the foundation for mankind's most successful ventures. Today there is a visible shift in science, where people have shifted from chemistry to biology, and from biology to medicine. Everybody wishes to be wealthy and healthy. Jonathan Swift once said, "Everybody wants to live longer but nobody wants to be old." Still, the role of polymer chemistry (pure and applied sciences) is very prominent in the world of science today, but it is heading away from polymers and polymer blends towards composites and nanocomposites. It allows for the creation of new materials with unique properties and new possibilities. This a second edition on this subject. If we measure the world's production of materials by volume and not by weight, then we find that it equals the production of iron, cast, steel, and coloured metals together. This volume equals 250-270 million cubic metric of material per year. It is important to note that the rate of production of polymers is overcoming the rate of production of metals by 30-40%. Mankind used to live in the Stone Age, then the Iron Age, then the Bronze Age, and now it has come to be the Age of Polymers (leaning heavily towards composites and nanocomposites). There are reviews and essays, according to the opinions of editors, that are helping to further develop polymer science and assist in solving practical applications (new materials with improved properties).