Norway’s revived electric carmaker, now called “Think Global,” is raising more capital with the goal of producing 10,000 cars a year by 2009. Now Jan-Olaf Willums, chief executive of Think Global, appears to have some solid investors behind him. The firm started rolling again earlier this year, with a line-up including retailing tycoon Stein-Erik Hagen, hotel developer Petter Stordalen and shipping heir Petter Sundt. The goal is to be the world’s leading electric carmaker. Willums said Think needs to produce 10,000 cars a year to be profitable, and will likely make some of the cars overseas. “England, the US, Switzerland and the Netherlands are possible production sites,” he said.
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Phenolics or Polyphenols are the structural ‘backbone’ for most of the antioxidants found in plants. Plants construct complex phenolic compounds that serve a variety of functions as defense mechanisms and through interactions with other organisms. They may function to protect the plant from insects, diseases, and environmental stress. Phenolics also determine certain desirable plant properties such as flavor and palatability. Some phenols are germicidal and are used in formulating disinfectants. Others possess estrogenic or endocrine disrupting activity.

The phenol-formaldehyde resins, developed commercially between 1905 and 1910, were the first truly synthetic polymers and have found wide usage. They are characterized by low cost, dimensional stability, high strength, and resistance to aging. Various thermosetting resins, obtained by the reaction of phenols with simple aldehyde additives, are used to make molded products, coatings and adhesives.

Items can be cast from syrupy intermediates or molded from solid resins. Laminated products can be produced by impregnating fiber, cloth, wood, and other materials with the resin. An important type of phenolic resin product is rigid foam. Cured phenolic plastics are rigid, hard, and resistant to chemicals (except strong alkali) and to heat. Phenolic resins can be used for making precisely molded articles, such as machine parts. They are useful for manufacturing strong and durable laminated boards, or for impregnating fabrics, wood, and paper. Phenolic resins are also widely used as adhesives, as the binder for grinding wheels, as thermal insulation panels, as ion-exchange resins, and in paints and varnishes.

Natural phenol is a colorless to pink solid or thick liquid with a characteristic sweet tar like odor. It is highly soluble in water, alcohol, chloroform, ether, glycerol, carbon disulphide, petrolatum, volatile and fixed oils, and aqueous alkali hydroxides. It is almost insoluble in petroleum ether. It has a boiling point of 181.8(°C), a melting point of 40.9 (°C), and a flash point of 78.9(°C).

Phenol has proven useful as a general disinfectant, as a reagent in chemical analysis and for the manufacture of artificial resins, medical and industrial organic compounds and dyes. It is also used in the manufacture of fertilizers, explosives, paints and paint removers, drugs, pharmaceuticals, textiles and coke. It is produced in large volume, mostly as an intermediate in the production of other chemicals.

The largest single use of phenol is as an intermediate in the production of phenolic resins, which are low-cost, versatile, thermoset resins used in the plywood adhesive, construction, automotive, and appliance industries. It is also used as an intermediate in the production of caprolactam, which is used to make nylon and other synthetic fibres, and bisphenol A, which is used to make epoxy and other resins.

Phenol is found naturally in animal wastes and decomposing organic material. Phenol is a common component of oil refinery wastes. It is also produced in the conversion of coal into gaseous or liquid fuels and in the production of metallurgical coke from coal. It may enter the environment from oil refinery discharges, coal conversion plants, municipal waste treatment plant discharges, or spills.

Consumer products which may contain Phenol include agricultural chemicals, disinfectants, general antibacterials and antiseptics, household hard surface cleaners (liquid), lubricating oils, automotive chemicals, paint and varnish removers, pharmaceutical preparations, synthetic resin and rubber adhesives, wood office work surfaces (modular systems).

Acrylic is a clear plastic that resembles glass. It also has properties that make it superior to glass in some applications. Common brands of high-grade acrylic include Polycast, Lucite and Plexiglass.
There are two basic types of acrylic: extruded and cell cast. Extruded or “continuous cast” acrylic is softer, more easily scratched and the cheaper castings often contain impurities. Cell cast acrylic is the higher quality variation. This process yields greater consistency and can produce a sheet that is ten times stronger than glass at half the weight!
Acrylic is the material of choice for shower doors, bath enclosures, windows and skylights. It is many times stronger than glass, making it far more impact resistant. It also insulates better than glass. Acrylic can also be sawed, whereas glass must be scored.
Thick glass will have a green tint, while acrylic remains clear with a transparency rate of 93%. Acrylic is easily shaped as with bow-front aquariums. Chemical welding at the molecular level “melts” any seams into one piece of solid material. Seams that are welded and polished become invisible.
Though previous generations of plastic will yellow, turn brittle and crack over time, acrylics remain clear and durable. There is ample evidence of this claim including evaluations of WWII fighter planes that featured acrylic bubble-tops. Modern airplane windows are also acrylic. With reasonable care, acrylic will remain new looking regardless of age or exposure to sun. Although acrylic scratches more easily, unlike glass, scratches are easily buffed out.
Acrylic that is exposed to a direct flame will melt. Its performance under various conditions is predictable for any given formula. Extensive testing has been conducted on the question of flame resistance and, though acrylic will eventually burn, there are formulations that are actually used as flame retardant coatings.
Acrylic just over one inch thick (32mm) is bullet resistant. Many window enclosures feature bullet-resistant acrylic. Examples include the the Presidential motorcade, the booth-vehicle known as the Pope Mobile, bank teller stations and drive-throughs.

The light bulb, the symbol of bright ideas, doesn’t look like such a great idea anymore, as lawmakers in the U.S. and abroad are talking about banning the century-old technology because of its contribution to global warming.
Established players in the lighting industry and a host of startups are now grooming LEDs to take on the reigning champion of residential lighting, the familiar pear-shaped incandescent light bulb.
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