Polymer Physics

This book is the result of my teaching efforts during the last ten years at the Royal Institute of Technology. The purpose is to present the subject of polymer physics for undergraduate and graduate students, to focus the fundamental aspects of the subject and to show the link between experiments and theory. The intention is not to present a compilation of the currently available literature on the subject. Very few reference citations have thus been made. Each chapter has essentially the same structure: starling with an introduction, continuing with the actual subject, summarizing the chapter in 30D-500 words, and finally presenting problems and a list of relevant references for the reader. The solutions to the problems presented in Chapters 1-12 are given in Chapter 13. The theme of the book is essentially polymer science, with the exclusion of that part dealing directly with chemical reactions. The fundamentals in polymer science, including some basic polymer chemistry, are presented as an introduction in the first chapter. The next eight chapters deal with different phenomena (processes) and states of polymers. The last three chapters were written with the intention of making the reader think practically about polymer physics. How can a certain type of problem be solved? What kinds of experiment should be conducted? This book would never have been written without the help of my friend and adviser, Dr Anthony Bristow, who has spent many hours reading through the manuscript. criticizing the content. Front Matter....Pages i-xi A Brief Introduction to Polymer Science....Pages 1-18 Chain Conformations in Polymers....Pages 19-38 The Rubber Elastic State....Pages 39-53 Polymer Solutions....Pages 55-75 The Glassy Amorphous State....Pages 77-98 The Molten State....Pages 99-129 Crystalline Polymers....Pages 131-167 Crystallization Kinetics....Pages 169-198 Chain Orientation....Pages 199-216 Thermal Analysis of Polymers....Pages 217-237 Microscopy of Polymers....Pages 239-257 Spectroscopy and Scattering of Polymers....Pages 259-273 Solutions to Problems Given in Exercises....Pages 275-292 Back Matter....Pages 293-298

This text provides a comprehensive overview of the physical characteristics of polymers from random polymer chains and the statistical concepts of a gaussian chain to crystalline polymers and their kinetics. The main part of the book is concerned with the different physical states and phenomena which are characteristic of polymers. A summary of the most important experimental methods in polymer physics is included. Each chapter provides the reader with problems, for which solutions are given at the end of the book.