EXPERIMENT 2

EFFECT OF AIR POLLUTION ON NYLON

THINGS YOU NEED: Discarded nylon stocking. Stiff cardboard 1 foot by 1 foot. Wood pole 3 feet long (a piece of broomstick would be great). Magnifying glass (desirable, but not necessary). Patience.

     Many cases have been reported in which women’s nylon stockings were ruined by something in the air. The damage occurred while the stockings were being worn. In some instances, large holes were produced in the nylon material. Yet the skin was not harmed.

     The cause of this particular kind of air pollution damage has been called “acidic soot.” The name is a general one that applies to a number of destructive agents such as hot particles in smoke, soot that contains acid, acid droplets, and solvent vapors. If you’d like to know whether or not acidic soot exists in your neighborhood, this experiment will help you find out. But it will require an exposure test of a month or so.

     First make a hole in the center of the cardboard 6 inches by 6 inches. Next saw the 3-foot pole into 4 equal parts. Nail the pieces to the corners of the cardboard, forming a little table. Then cut an 8 inch-square piece of nylon from the stocking (save the rest of the stocking for Experiment 7).

     To mount the nylon, make a slit in each corner of the cardboard, and work the ends of the nylon into these slits. They’ll stay put. Don’t stretch the nylon too tightly . . . just enough to remove the wrinkles.