The Mysteries of Science in Solving Applied Problems

Abstract

The solution of various applied problems usually leads to the need to find answers to purely scientific fundamental questions and discover new phenomena. The article gives examples of such discoveries. It was discovered that flammability of polymeric materials can be decreased by dispersion of a material containing microencapsulated low-boiling flame retardants on exposure to an external fire source. The composition of the Earth’s atmosphere is analyzed in terms of dynamic equilibrium of the processes of oxygen production from forests and the consumption for their combustion during fires. The study of the amazing kinetics of the preparation of polyformaldehyde from formaldehyde and its cyclic trimer, trioxane, was explained, firstly, in the creation of the theory of reversible heterogeneous polymerization of trioxane and led to a fundamentally new, thermodynamic, method of regulating the molecular and supramolecular structure of the polymer. Secondly, on the example of polymerization of formaldehyde, a possible advantage of “diffusion” over “kinetic” modes was discovered. A similar effect was confirmed for the process of sulfuric acid alkylation of high-octane gasoline production.