The name of this course is “Introduction to Polymer Materials”. Let’s break it down.
Introduction:
I assume that this is the first class you have ever had teaches you what a polymer is – no background knowledge about polymers specifically is needed for this course. That being said, this course builds upon basic principles in general chemistry, organic chemistry, and math that you will need to know.
Polymer:
What is it? You’ll find out soon!
Materials:
This class is not a polymer “physics” course, nor is it a polymer “chemistry” course – it’s a polymer materials course. To me, “materials” means that we are going to emphasize an understanding of how the molecular, atomic level structure of a polymer affects its macroscale properties as a material. This structure – functional relationship, as you will see, is especially important and fascinating for polymers. And, we are going to emphasize not just the fundamental science, but also delve into some applications and explore how these unique properties of polymers are useful.
Within the “materials” world, you may hear the distinction “soft” versus “hard” materials. Typically, one would lump inorganic materials like metals or ceramics into “hard” materials that are strong and tough, while polymers and other organic materials evoke thoughts of “soft” materials – materials that are squishy, flexible, and weak. And while maybe this categorization is applicable to many materials, there are numerous cases in which these assumptions fail. For example, mercury is a metal – but it’s a liquid (a soft material). Kevlar is a polymer used for making many products including bullet proof vests, but it is extremely strong – stronger than steel in fact. Diamond, one of the hardest materials known to man, is organic and made entirely of carbon. So dispel any preconceived notions about the physical properties of polymers – in fact, one of the unique aspects of polymers that makes them so useful is how tunable and diverse the physical properties are. We will discuss in detail how the physical properties of a polymer are related to the chemistry and molecular structure of a polymer.