Samples of history

Ralph Moyer, Scovill Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, holds a textile sample—in the form of a scarf—that he had a role in creating nearly 65 years ago while working in the Carbon Products Division of Union Carbide Corporation. He said that the loom-woven fabric is significant because “it marked the first attempt to take carbon yarns, and using the traditional methods of the textile industry, to construct the fabric of choice.” Moyer used various textile samples, made of newly patented carbon and graphite fibers, in several chemistry classes throughout his Trinity College teaching career, which spanned from 1969 to 2017. He recently donated the samples to Philadelphia’s Science History Institute, a museum dedicated to the history of science. “In my opinion,” Moyer said, “the carbon and graphite textile materials are of seminal historical importance, and examples taken from that period should be preserved. I am delighted that the folks [at the museum] agree with me.”

Photo by Nick Caito