Bakelite (TM)

The original trademarked name for phenol-formaldehyde resin, but now used to refer to a range of different types of plastic. The method for manufacturing the original resin was devised in 1909 by L. H. Baekeland in the United States, and the name Bakelite is a registered trademark of the Union Carbide Corporation. It is a hard, infusible, and chemically resistant plastic, nonconductor of electricity, and used in electrical appliances, industrial applications, in molding and casting operations, as an adhesive, in paints, and in baked-enamel coatings.