Science: Alsifilm Onward

Last year Professor Ernst Alfred Hauser of Massachusetts Institute of Technology discovered a new kind of wrapping material —odorless, tasteless, impervious to fire and corrosion by acids—made from bentonite clay and called “Alsifilm” (TIME, Nov. 7). Alsifilm is already being used to replace mica (isinglass) in electric motor and generator insulation. Last week Professor Hauser looked forward to a time when Alsifilm would free the U. S. of dependence on foreign supplies of mica, now largely imported from India.

The first Alsifilm was whitish and opaque, like a tough vellum paper. This quality suggested its use as a durable medium for writing and printing. Dr. Hauser is now making another kind, from a clay he discovered in California’s Death Valley, which is almost completely transparent and waterproof—usable as wrapper for tobacco and foods. He is also experimenting with this type as a possible material for photographic films and automobile windows.