cellulose is the most abundant of all macromolecules on earth with an estimated production of 10 000 000 000 tons per annum. it is assembled biosynthetically on earth, but abiotic synthesis has been observed even in outer space.
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the term 'cell' (biological) was coined in 1665 by robert hooke, who is well known by engineers for his 'law of elasticity'. hooke was a versatile scientist and had made observations with a microscope when he was curator of instruments for the royal society in london. he recorded the results in his book 'micrographia' which became one of the earliest bestsellers of scientific literature.
microscopy was a new discipline then and hooke's book was the first to feature wonders of nature like an ant's head or the sting of a bee in magnified scale, all drawn by the author with greatest accuracy.
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one of the objects he had examined was a thin slice of cork (see image). in 'micrographia' hooke describes the porous structure of the specimen and names the pores 'cellulae', which is latin for "small room". he actually saw the remaining cellulosic walls of plant cells. hooke discovers similar structures in other plants and discerns that some are filled with liquid and some are not. he assumes that the hollow spaces of the cells might conduct substances through the plant.
hooke was visionary enough to suggest the possibility of making artificial silk from cellulose, but it would take more than 220 years for this to become reality.
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 this drawing shows robert hooke's view of a piece of cork through a microscope.
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