Design for the 1951 Crystal Design Project for the Festival of Britain

Design in blue ink on blue paper of a pattern based upon a cell structure diagram

Given by the Council of Industrial Design

Dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) is an ester of terephthalic acid and methanol and is used in the production of polyesters, including polyethylene terephthalate and polytrimethylene terephthalate. It consists of benzene with methyl ester groups attached in the para position, or to the first and fourth carbon atoms.

DMT has largely been superseded by pure terephthalic acid (PTA) as the preferred industrial route to polyester production.

-------Regarding terylene:-----

Polyethylene terephthalate (aka PET, PETE or the obsolete PETP or PET-P) is a thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers; thermoforming applications; and engineering resins often in combination with glass fiber. It is one of the most important raw materials used in man-made fibers.

Depending on its processing and thermal history, it may exist both as an amorphous (transparent) and as a semi-crystalline (opaque and white) material. Its monomer can be synthesized by the esterification reaction between terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol with water as a byproduct, or the transesterification reaction between ethylene glycol and dimethyl terephthalate with methanol as a byproduct. Polymerization is through a polycondensation reaction of the monomers (done immediately after esterification/transesterification) with ethylene glycol as the byproduct (the ethylene glycol is recycled in production).

The majority of the world's PET production is for synthetic fibers (in excess of 60%) with bottle production accounting for around 30% of global demand. In discussing textile applications, PET is generally referred to as simply "polyester" while "PET" is used most often to refer to packaging applications.

It is manufactured under trade names Arnite, Impet and Rynite, Ertalyte, Hostaphan, Melinex and Mylar films, and Dacron, Diolen, Terylene & Trevira fibers.

Sir William Henry Bragg and his son William were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1915 for the invention of X-ray crystallography. This new science enabled the first drawings of the arrangement of atoms within molecules. It was particularly developed as one of the most significant and exciting branches of science during the late 1940s and put Britain at the cutting edge of international research. In 1946 Dr Helen Megaw, a Crystallographer (Crystallography - a study of the structure of matter) suggested that the patterns made by X-ray crystallography could be used as a fresh source of inspiration for wallpaper and fabric designers. The patterns were considered particularly appropriate for use in textile design because of their repetitive symmetry and natural beauty.

The Festival of Britain held in 1951 provided new opportunities for textile design and manufacture. This diagram of Diethyl terephthalate, better known as Terylene a precursor of polyester, is one of a group of crystal structure drawings that inspired textiles made by the Festival Pattern Group for the event. The idea of patterns inspired by science was perfect for the theme of the Festival which had been planned as a ‘combined exhibition of science, technology and industrial design’.

CIRC.78D-1968