Colours: from Cave Paint to Nanotube Black
Patented: History of Inventions
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The Story of William Henry Perkins
The story goes that William Henry Perkins was this sort of very young, budding chemist. He wasn't interested in color at all; he wanted to make a cure for malaria. The reason why coal tar was so exciting is because there was so much of it about at that time. It was believed to be this kind of wonder substance from which almost anything could be created.
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