The Mesoscopic Theory of Polymer Dynamics

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Introduction: Macromolecular Systems in Equilibrium

   Pages 1-20

3. Dynamics of a Macromolecule in a Viscous Liquid

   Pages 21-36

4. Dynamics of a Macromolecule in an Entangled System

   Pages 37-50

5. Low-Frequency Modes for Weakly-Coupled Macromolecules

   Pages 51-63

6. The Localisation Effect

   Pages 64-80

7. Linear Viscoelastisity

   Pages 81-113

8. Equations of Relaxation

   Pages 114-129

9. Relaxation Processes in the Phenomenological Theory

   Pages 130-146

10. Non-Linear Effects of Viscoelscticity

    Pages 147-166

11. Optical Anisotropy

    Pages 167-184

12. Back Matter

    Pages 185-231

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Our brutal century of atom bombs and spaceships can also be called the century ofpolymers. In any case, the broad spreading ofsynthetic polymer materials is one of thesigns of our time. A look at the various aspects of our life is enough to convince us that polymeric materials (textiles, pl- tics, rubbers) are as widely spread and important in our life as are other materials (metals and non-metals) derived from small molecules. Polymers have entered the life of the twentieth century as irreplaceable construction materials. Polymers differ from other substances by the size of their molecules which, appropriately enough, are referred to as macromolecules, since they consist of thousands or tens of thousands of atoms (molecular weight up to -4 6 10 ormore) andhave a macroscopic rectilinear length (upto 10 cm). The atoms ofa macromolecule are firmly held together by valence bonds, fo- ing a single entity. In polymeric substances, the weaker van der Waals forces have an effect on the components of the macromolecules which form the system. The structure of polymeric systems is more complicated than that oflow-molecular solids or liquids, but there are some common features: the atoms within a given macromolecule are ordered, but the centres ofmass of the individual macromolecules and parts of them are distributed randomly. Remarkably, the mechanical response of polymeric systems combines the elasticity of a solid with the fluidity of a liquid.

• conformational relaxation in polymers
• deformation
• linear viscoelasticity
• macromolecular dynamics
• macromolecular systems
• non-linear viscoelasticity
• polymer
• polymers
• fluid- and aerodynamics

• Department of Physics, University of Malta, Msida, Malta

  Vladimir N. Pokrovskii

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