The development of Teflon arose from intensive studies of fluorine compounds in the development of the nuclear bomb. Fluorine atoms held much more tightly to the carbon chain than hydrogen atoms did, so long-chain polytetra-fluoroethylene (or Teflon for short) had great properties: it didn't burn, dis- solve, or stick to anything.
A visual chronology of Asimov's ~1500 scientific inventions and discoveries.
