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Styrofoam is a trademark of Dow Chemical Company
Dow Chemical Company

The Dow Chemical Company is an United States multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan. As of 2007, it is the second largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization ....
 for presently made for thermal insulation
Thermal insulation

The term thermal insulation can refer to materials used to reduce the rate of heat transfer, or the methods and processes used to reduce heat transfer....
 and craft applications .

In 1940, researchers in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab found a way to make foamed polystyrene. Led by Ray McIntire
Ray McIntire

Otis Ray McIntire was born in Gardner, Kansas on August 24, 1918. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a B.S. degree in engineering in 1940, he went to work as a research engineer for The Dow Chemical Company....
, they had "rediscovered" a method first discovered by Swedish inventor Carl Georg Munters. Dow acquired exclusive rights to use Munter's patents and found ways to make large quantities of extruded polystyrene as a closed cell foam
Foam

The most general definition of foam is a substance that is formed by trapping many gas bubbles in a liquid or solid. It can also refer to anything that is analogous to such a phenomenon, such as quantum foam....
 that resisted moisture
Moisture

Moisture generally refers to the presence of water, often in trace amounts.The moisture content is often an important aspect of various Food including cheese and many dried goods such as tea where excess moisture can promote Bacteria, Bacterial decay, Mold, or Rot over time....
.






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Styrofoam is a trademark of Dow Chemical Company
Dow Chemical Company

The Dow Chemical Company is an United States multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan. As of 2007, it is the second largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization ....
 for presently made for thermal insulation
Thermal insulation

The term thermal insulation can refer to materials used to reduce the rate of heat transfer, or the methods and processes used to reduce heat transfer....
 and craft applications .

In 1940, researchers in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab found a way to make foamed polystyrene. Led by Ray McIntire
Ray McIntire

Otis Ray McIntire was born in Gardner, Kansas on August 24, 1918. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a B.S. degree in engineering in 1940, he went to work as a research engineer for The Dow Chemical Company....
, they had "rediscovered" a method first discovered by Swedish inventor Carl Georg Munters. Dow acquired exclusive rights to use Munter's patents and found ways to make large quantities of extruded polystyrene as a closed cell foam
Foam

The most general definition of foam is a substance that is formed by trapping many gas bubbles in a liquid or solid. It can also refer to anything that is analogous to such a phenomenon, such as quantum foam....
 that resisted moisture
Moisture

Moisture generally refers to the presence of water, often in trace amounts.The moisture content is often an important aspect of various Food including cheese and many dried goods such as tea where excess moisture can promote Bacteria, Bacterial decay, Mold, or Rot over time....
. Because of its insulating properties, buoyancy and "unsinkability", it was adopted in 1942 by the U.S. Coast Guard
Coast guard

A coast guard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries....
 for use in a six-person life raft. Styrofoam can be used for building materials, including insulated sheathing, pipe insulation and floral and craft products. Styrofoam insulation has been used in many notable buildings and facilities in North America. The Dow insulation product can be identified by its distinctive blue color; Styrofoam for craft applications is available in white and green.

In the United States, the word styrofoam is often used as a generic term
Genericized trademark

A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquialism or generic description for a general class of Good or Service , rather than the specific meaning intended by the trademark's holder....
 for , such as disposable coffee cups, coolers or packaging material, which are typically white and are made of expanded polystyrene beads. This is different from the extruded polystyrene used for Styrofoam insulation. The polystrene foam used for craft applications, which can be identified by its roughness and by the fact that it "crunches" when cut, is not specifically identified as expanded or extruded.

See also

  • List of generic and genericized trademarks
    List of generic and genericized trademarks

    List of former trademarks that have become generic terms The following list contains marks which were originally legally protected trademarks, but which have subsequently lost legal protection as trademarks by becoming the common name of the relevant product or service, as used both by the consuming public and commercial competitors....
  • Polystyrene
    Polystyrene

    Polystyrene , sometimes abbreviated PS, is an Aromaticity polymer made from the aromatic monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is commercially manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry....
  • Structural insulated panel
    Structural insulated panel

    Structural insulated panels , SIPs, are a composite building material. They consist of a sandwich of two layers of structural board with an insulating layer of foam in between....
  • Resin identification code
    Resin identification code

    The SPI resin identification coding system is a set of symbols placed on plastics to identify the polymer type. It was developed by the Society of the Plastics Industry in 1988, and used internationally....
  • Thermal insulation
    Thermal insulation

    The term thermal insulation can refer to materials used to reduce the rate of heat transfer, or the methods and processes used to reduce heat transfer....
  • Building insulation
    Building insulation

    Building insulation refers broadly to any object in a building used as insulation for any purpose. Whilst the majority of insulation in buildings is for thermal insulation purposes, the term also applies to acoustic insulation, Fireproofing, and Cushioning ....
  • Ray McIntire
    Ray McIntire

    Otis Ray McIntire was born in Gardner, Kansas on August 24, 1918. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a B.S. degree in engineering in 1940, he went to work as a research engineer for The Dow Chemical Company....
  • National Inventors Hall of Fame
    National Inventors Hall of Fame

    The is the premier not-for-profit organization in America dedicated to recognizing, honoring and encouraging invention and creativity through the administration of its programs....
  • Styrophone
    Styrophone

    A styrophone is an acoustic device made from expanded polystyrene foam . There are at least two varieties:* an acoustic musical instrument* a type of loudspeaker...


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