What's the link between Lego™ blocks, zero pollution cars, disposable nappies?
Over 45,000 young people have enjoyed this fascinating demonstration lecture.
After a brief overview of the great variety of physical properties of plastics that make them suitable for various intriguing and surprising applications, students are reminded of the basic concepts of solid, liquids and gases. From there, students are introduced to the idea of polymers consisting of long chain molecules. Polymers can exist as solid and liquids but often have properties of both (as in slime).
Lively demonstrations show the effects of increasing the temperature, crosslinking the molecules , "tangling up" the polymer chains, and dissolving them in liquids. Some examples are given to show how by controlling what happens at the molecular level, the characteristics of the final material are determined.
Over 45,000 young people have enjoyed this fascinating demonstration lecture.
After a brief overview of the great variety of physical properties of plastics that make them suitable for various intriguing and surprising applications, students are reminded of the basic concepts of solid, liquids and gases. From there, students are introduced to the idea of polymers consisting of long chain molecules. Polymers can exist as solid and liquids but often have properties of both (as in slime).
Lively demonstrations show the effects of increasing the temperature, crosslinking the molecules , "tangling up" the polymer chains, and dissolving them in liquids. Some examples are given to show how by controlling what happens at the molecular level, the characteristics of the final material are determined.
