
North Korea’s fabric made from stone - SirLJ
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/northkorea-vinalon/
======
s0rce
There are actual fabrics made from stone. Here are some I've worked with for
composite materials made in Russia from molten basalt extruded into fibers and
woven into cloth.

[http://basfiber.com/products](http://basfiber.com/products)

~~~
stickfigure
And let's not forget asbestos, which is a naturally occurring mineral.

------
pwaai
> “If war breaks out lots of sparks and bullets go back and forth.... Cotton
> tends to melt and vanish but vinalon burns you because it sticks to your
> skin,” Jung said. “The uniforms made of vinalon are not suitable for combat.
> When it rains, the uniforms soak up water and become very heavy, which
> inevitably makes it difficult for soldiers to move. After a while, the
> uniforms turn very stiff.”

So basically they are wearing flammable and stiffening clothing that defeats
the very purpose of combat uniforms....how can a country like this even
survive the first few days of war? More reasons for it to never give up its
nuclear weapons.

~~~
dingaling
The ( British ) Royal Navy issued nylon uniforms from the 1960s until the
Falklands War. At which time they learned that in a fire those were
responsible for horrific burns.

I believe they only issue cotton now, though my RAF shirts were still a
cotton-nylon blend in the early 2000s.

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HarryHirsch
Actually, to anyone who knows industrial history this is purest clickbait.
North Korea's poylvinyl alcohol fiber is indeed made from coal, but worldwide
the chemical industry used coal until after World War 2.

The feedstocks would be acetylene (from carbide) and coal tar distillates. The
enormous energy requirements of a carbide oven is why the American chemical
industry settled near Buffalo, NY, that's where the Niagara Falls powerplant
was.

------
chiph
The title is a little misleading - I was expecting cloth made from rockwool.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6FWPTZjwLo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6FWPTZjwLo)

~~~
amerine
Misleading? The material is made from coal and limestone.

~~~
jonknee
That's like saying wool is made from sunlight. I mean, it started there, but
there's a lot more to it.

~~~
Florin_Andrei
They're harnessing the outcome of the Big Bang to make fabric for their
people.

------
blackguardx
I'm surprised no one has mentioned asbestos yet. Asbestos is a mineral that
is/was turned into fibers and fabrics [0]. My father even has a chunk of
asbestos rock somewhere. It is relatively safe when not processed. It is the
detached fibers that are most harmful.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos)

~~~
JumpCrisscross
> _[Asbestos] is relatively safe when not processed_

The WHO says "all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic to humans" [1]. The CDC
specifically addresses "naturally occurring asbestos," which it finds "is only
a health problem if it is disturbed," _e.g._ via "surface soil disturbance"
[2].

[1]
[http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs343/en/](http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs343/en/)

[2]
[https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/noa/where_is_asbestos_found.html](https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/noa/where_is_asbestos_found.html)

~~~
drharby
Carcinogenic isnt dangerous if it cant be breathed in, ya?

In other news water makes you drown when sufficiently submerged

~~~
JumpCrisscross
> _Carcinogenic isnt dangerous if it cant be breathed in_

OP said their father keeps a bulk of asbestos in their house. For it to get to
the house, it had to be picked up and transported. Once there, there is a risk
it jostles around or is impacted by something, _e.g._ due to objects falling
on it or it falling on objects. Collecting and keeping asbestos in any form
appears ill advised under WHO and CDC guidance.

~~~
blackguardx
I don't think a fingertip-sized chunk of asbestos in an old mason jar is going
to be very dangerous.

I also drink alcohol and use leaded solder FWIW.

------
dh-g
The stain resistant qualities made me think it would make a good pack, and it
already exists: [https://www.fjallraven.com/guides/material-
guides/vinylon-f](https://www.fjallraven.com/guides/material-guides/vinylon-f)

~~~
gambiting
It's literally mentioned in the article too.

------
joezydeco
My past year of slime-making with my daughter educated me on the chemical name
of Elmer's School Glue, aka Polyvinyl Acetate.

PVA is one of the steps in the vinylon process.

~~~
mchannon
PVA is polyvinyl alcohol. Pretty stinky stuff- it’s used as a mold release for
composite lay-ups, and is the active ingredient in certain prescription eye
drops.

~~~
ivanbakel
>PVA is polyvinyl alcohol.

I'd imagine this is a context-dependent acronym. Certainly, in public in the
UK PVA refers to acetate, because it's a shorthand for glue.

~~~
mchannon
The context in this case being the original posted article, which is polyvinyl
alcohol, not acetate.

~~~
neltnerb
Both PVA's are steps in the synthesis so it's extra amusing this time. The
vinyl acetate is polymerized to polyvinyl acetate (PVA) and then converted
into an alcohol (also PVA) because the vinyl alcohol monomer isn't stable
enough.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_alcohol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_alcohol)

~~~
mchannon
Amazing but true. The scrawl on the board shows how they make vinyl monomers
out of acetic acid derived from their carbide process, then PVAcetate, then
PVAlcohol.

This whole article reminded me of paper made out of rock. Depressingly, it's
still a fuel-based product.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_paper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_paper)

~~~
neltnerb
Yeah, I developed chemical processes to make monomers in my last job and was
still surprised that they start from coal to do this. I didn't even realize
there was a process from coal to acetylene, I just took it for granted that
acetylene and acetate generally start from distillate or natural gas unless
some bio-source is extremely convenient.

(from
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetylene#Preparation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetylene#Preparation))

"Until the 1950s, when oil supplanted coal as the chief source of reduced
carbon, acetylene (and the aromatic fraction from coal tar) was the main
source of organic chemicals in the chemical industry. It was prepared by the
hydrolysis of calcium carbide, a reaction discovered by Friedrich Wöhler in
1862[17] and still familiar to students:

    
    
        CaC2 + 2H2O → Ca(OH)2 + C2H2
    

Calcium carbide production requires extremely high temperatures, ~2000°C,
necessitating the use of an electric arc furnace. In the US, this process was
an important part of the late-19th century revolution in chemistry enabled by
the massive hydroelectric power project at Niagara Falls."

~~~
jaclaz
Well, till not so long ago (the 1950 _s and 1960_ s) it was not so uncommon in
rural areas (not served by electricity or gas) to have carbide lamps as a
source of lighting:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbide_lamp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbide_lamp)

------
thriftwy
They're using Soviet and Communist words interchangeably. However I'm not sure
it's accurate, and whether any of communist regimes outside USSR called
themself soviet.

Note that North Korea dropped 'communist' word altogether aroud two decades
ago. Now it's Juche state.

~~~
ctdonath
Rebranding is a thing.

------
jonathanyc
“Under Japanese rule,” “at the time, North Korea was a part of Japan”...

Even during the lawful occupations of Japan and Germany, those countries are
not referred to as “part of America” or “under British rule.”

Why the euphemism for Japan’s horrific and moreover unlawful occupation of
Korea?

~~~
jccooper
Perhaps because Japan officially and intentionally annexed Korea during that
time, where American occupations were explicitly only occupations?

------
gwbas1c
I find all these stories of North Korea fascinating. The USSR and China both
realized that free markets are a better system and adjusted accordingly. North
Korea just seems to keep betting on a system that's broken.

~~~
throwawayfinal
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. North Korea is under incredible
sanctions, and South Korea's embracing of the free market is considered to be
an economic miracle made possible only by multiple headwinds, and some solid
good luck.

China can hardly be called a free market, by the way.

~~~
gwbas1c
Well, we can debate the definition of a free market forever. We (in the US)
tend to define "free market" as whatever benefits the corporations that buy
the lobbyists. They sometimes like to slip in silly protectionist laws.

Read up on the chicken tax and the incident with Kerrygold butter in
Wisconsin.

More recent examples are how the telcos got net neutrality repealed, the media
companies strengthening copyright, and Trump loosening EPA restrictions. Those
aren't really "free market" moves, but called free market by the parties who
benefit from them.

------
bpicolo
Design / typesetting here is fantastic

~~~
GotAnyMegadeth
I like how the big quotes that separate up the paragraph aren't repeated
elsewhere in the text like many similar sites seem to do!

~~~
pavlov
I feel the opposite way — it’s breaking the old magazine convention that
pullout quotes are merely highlights for quick browsing, and it feels
disorienting that there’s new information in these design elements.

~~~
bpicolo
Pullout quotes have always been silly, they never have enough context to use
as skimming material either

~~~
pavlov
Designers like pullout quotes because they break up the monotony of body copy,
and you can use fancy display fonts on them. Consequently they make pages look
more "expensive" to readers simply by association with more thoughtful design.

------
CthulhuCoin
transparent propaganda piece to test public opinion on West/NK policy

~~~
dang
Please don't post unsubstantive comments here.

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chinathrow
No wonder the fans gear up - huge embedded autoplay video somewhere way below
the fold.

