Peterlin ’ s attaché case , which he purchased during one of his first trips to the U . S . and used practically daily ever since . Technical Museum of Slovenia . Photo : Nebojša Tejić , STA .
UNPROMISING POLYMERS
Peterlin focused his research efforts on the study of polymers , large molecules composed of smaller units called monomers . He once recounted how the study of polymers had been considered unpromising in the post-war years and smart people were advised to avoid this field . Subsequent developments would prove the naysayers very wrong , for polymers still play a fundamental and multifaceted role in our lives owing to their broad range of applications .
Used by engineers and engineering students to carry out quick and fairly accurate calculations , slide rules were a common tool in mechanical and electrical engineering , aircraft design , the military , in surveying , and in all other fields where logarithms , trigonometry , roots , squares , multiplication , and division were required . Slide rules were eventually replaced by the HP-35 calculator , which France Rode helped design in 1972 . Technical Museum of Slovenia . Photo : Nebojša Tejić , STA .
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