Editing 1938 in science (section)

==Chemistry==
* April 6 – [[Roy J. Plunkett]] of [[DuPont]] accidentally discovers [[polytetrafluoroethylene]] (Teflon).
* September 20 – The first [[patent]]s for [[nylon]] (first [[chemical synthesis|synthesized]] in [[1935 in science|1935]]) are granted in the name of [[Wallace Carothers]] to DuPont.<ref>US Patent 2,130,523 ''Linear polyamides suitable for spinning into strong pliable fibers''; US Patent 2,130,947 ''Diamine dicarboxylic acid salt'' and US Patent 2,130,948 ''Synthetic fibers''. {{cite web|title=The history of nylon |url=http://www.caimateriali.org/index.php?id=32 |first=L. |last=Trossarelli |publisher=Club Alpino Italiano, Centro Studi Materiali e Tecniche |year=2010 |accessdate=2012-02-28 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425044410/http://www.caimateriali.org/index.php?id=32 |archivedate=2012-04-25 |url-status=live }}</ref> The first items produced in the new material are [[toothbrush]] [[bristle]]s.
* November 16 – [[Lysergic acid diethylamide]] is first synthesized by [[Albert Hofmann]] from [[ergotamine]] at the [[Sandoz Laboratories]] in [[Basel]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hofmann|first=Albert|url=http://www.psychedelic-library.org/child.htm|title=LSD — My Problem Child|publisher=McGraw–Hill|year=1980|isbn=978-0-07-029325-0}}</ref>
* [[Melamine]] thermosetting resin is developed by [[American Cyanamid]].