Funny Polymers

The mesogens that are introduced in the main-chain and side-chain of the molecules shown as items 2 and 3 are rigid, elongated or disc-like groups. They are 

The ball-and-chain polymer has been proposed to be made by attaching, for example, a fullerene (Cj, see Sect. 2.5.3) to a polymer chain. This shows that there are no limits to the structures to which chains can be attached. Adding flexible chains to rather rigid structures can enhance the solubility of the often poorly soluble rigid molecules and change the processing and the physical properties. 

The ribbon polymer is related to the less-flexible ladder and sheet polymers discussed before. One might expect very much different viscous behavior of such molecules in the melt. The interpenetrating networks [8] can have interesting elastic properties since each network may respond differently and interact with the other. The two-dimensional flexible polymers have recently been explored. They also belong to the sheet-like polymers. 

Very specific properties, thus, can be achieved with these funny polymers. The question of nomenclature, however, is for most of them formidable. New rules or naming must be formulated to satisfy the goal to have not only an empirical name for a polymer, but to be able to systematically link a name to the chemical structure of the macromolecule. 

It is naturally quite unhandy to identify each sample with such a distribution curve. Besides, it is a major effort to determine the mass distribution experimentally. A solution to this problem is offered by the moments of the distribution curve. The moments are to supply concise information about the curve. As one uses more moments, more details of the distribution arise. For a good characterization of a 

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This scene was particularly funny in 1967 when Mr McGuire advised recent college graduate Ben to pursue a career in plastics. A then-young Dustin Hoffman as Ben tried to answer politely, but the dismay and bewilderment of his reaction made this scene one of the most memorable in film history. (If you aren t familiar with this classic movie, talk to someone older—they will be.) The replacement of conventional materials with polymers that began in... 

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