18" Keffeler Sword (K18), AKA The KOD Piece

PeteyTwoPointOne said:
There's a lot of brainpower here, and I've always wondered if it's true that every single molecule of plastic ever produced still exists. In other words, it never totally decomposes back to nature.
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Nope, not true for multiple reasons:

1) Sunlight can chemically degrade some plastic (polystyrene) into dissolved organic carbon and carbon dioxide, but needs enough time to do so.
2) Some plastics are created to be biodegradable and can be broken down into natural compounds if exposed to the correct conditions.
3) Plenty of plastic has been chemically dissolved, so it no longer exists in its original form.

That said, it's easy to see why people might assume your question is true. Left in the ground without the benefit of UV rays, though, it can take anywhere from a decade to hundreds of years to break down, and sometimes that's just into microplastics rather than chemical decomposition.
 
PeteyTwoPointOne said:
There's a lot of brainpower here, and I've always wondered if it's true that every single molecule of plastic ever produced still exists. In other words, it never totally decomposes back to nature.
Click to expand...
Plastic molecules have not been around for that long in the grand scheme of things but if there ever was a death match on land between fungi and plastic, my money will be on fungi with their network of mycelium and hypha. If in a body of water, advantage plastic because algae are such weaklings!

#stillnotascientist

PS. Pete M gave the better response.
 
Pete M said:
Nope, not true for multiple reasons:

1) Sunlight can chemically degrade some plastic (polystyrene) into dissolved organic carbon and carbon dioxide, but needs enough time to do so.
2) Some plastics are created to be biodegradable and can be broken down into natural compounds if exposed to the correct conditions.
3) Plenty of plastic has been chemically dissolved, so it no longer exists in its original form.

That said, it's easy to see why people might assume your question is true. Left in the ground without the benefit of UV rays, though, it can take anywhere from a decade to hundreds of years to break down, and sometimes that's just into microplastics rather than chemical decomposition.
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Good answer. I'll only add that a high molecular weight polymer with plenty of crosslinking typically isn't well defined as a particular molecule in the same sense as we think of common small molecules.
 
Hopefully we can help out with the picture drought…… The K18 is phenomenal but, I have too say, the packaging job was even better! Boxed, wrapped, boxed again, sealed and wire tied to the cardboard. Just an amazing package and I want whoever did it to know it was greatly appreciated! Can’t begin to tell you the pitiful packages I’ve received, shocking the goods were still in the boxes!! Back on target……..
Here is a little double edged goodness for you…… ( I hope )
 

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Sled said:
Hopefully we can help out with the picture drought…… The K18 is phenomenal but, I have too say, the packaging job was even better! Boxed, wrapped, boxed again, sealed and wire tied to the cardboard. Just an amazing package and I want whoever did it to know it was greatly appreciated! Can’t begin to tell you the pitiful packages I’ve received, shocking the goods were still in the boxes!! Back on target……..
Here is a little double edged goodness for you…… ( I hope )
Click to expand...

That’s a sweet pair right there! :thumbsup: Love that Helm Dao. Didn’t realize how long those were.
 
Just saw a few more KODs were shipped or are shipping out today! 😲
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