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Stephanie Kwolek
Kevlar
- Since 1971, Kevlar has been used for bullet proof vests,
canoes, radial tires, skis, sails, tennis rackets, fiberoptic
cables, and more.
- She was a research chemist when she came up with the idea to
make a strong and lightweight fiber to use for car tires. Her
idea was that it would make the tires lighter and require less
gas – a good idea!
- She came up with a few concepts and had to go back to the
drawing board a number of times but eventually she came up with
Kevlar – a substance strong enough to stop a speeding bullet and
flexible enough to tie a satellite to a space shuttle.
- Kwolek patented Kevlar in 1966.
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