Phases of Different Sizes

New properties arise when the molecular sizes increase to the dimensions of the phase, as for example in the case of a typical polyethylene of 500,000 Da. It has a contour length of 2.8 pm and can easily cross microphase boundaries. This ttaversing of the surface makes neighboring phases interact sttongly, in contrast to the weak interactions by intermolecular forces (see Fig. 1.5). 

This short summary illustrates that three size-ranges must be considered for each type of phase (macrophases, microphases, and nanophases). In addition, the phase structure may be different for each of the three types of molecules. This leads to a total of nine possible situations for each of the nine condensed phases shown in Fig. 2.103. Of the 81 combinations, 57 have been suggested to be possible at the beginning of Sect. 2.5 [27]. Thermal analysis is the main technique to distinguish and identify this multitude of different systems. 

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