Chemistry - Task 1: How does chemical bonding explain the properties of chemical and biological polymers? Introduction Until the early 1920s, most chemists did not believe that molecules with a molecular weight greater than a few thousand were possible, as Reusch (2013) states. This view however was challenged by Hermann Staudinger in 1920. Staudinger was a chemist who studied natural compounds including rubber. His research in 1922 led to the idea that these compounds were actually macromolecules made up of over 10,000 atoms rather than groups of small molecules. As mentioned above, the polymer is what is known as a macromolecule, meaning it is a very large molecule material. Due to the size of these large molecules, they can become entangled with other larger molecules, this is what allows them to develop many different properties, some of which include the ability to turn into fibers or elastomers, these properties can never be developed on a small molecule. A large amount of polymer molecules are on the order of hundreds of Angstroms in size, however some can be exceptionally large, for example some deoxyribonucleic acid chains can even approach a few centimeters in length if they are stretched (PenState University 2013, Polymers[ online]). Most polymer chains are generally linear, branched or cross-linked, however other known topologies still exist, just rarer. In cross-linked polymers, often referred to as lattices or thermosetting polymers, there are covalent bonds that connect multiple chains together, this means that the molecular weight of these particles approaches infinity on these materials, for example, the average rubber ban.. .... half of the article ...... http://www2.chemistry.msu.edu/faculty/reusch/VirtTxtJml/polymers.htm (last accessed 1 October 2014) PenState University (2013) Polymers [ online ] Available: http://courses.chem.psu.edu/chem112/materials/polymers.html. Last accessed 13 August 2014.Dubois, J.-C. (1996), Ferroelectric polymers: chemistry, physics and applications. Edited by Hari Singh Nalwa, Marcel Dekker, New York 1995 Roberts, John D. and Caserio, Marjorie C. (1977) Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry, second edition. WAStevens Institute of Technology (2012) Chapter 5. Polymers [online] available: http://web.stevens.edu/e344/27_fall_2012/core/section_5/FL&O_section_5.pdf Last accessed 3 October 2014The OpenLearn team (2006) Rubber and vulcanization [online] available: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/science/chemistry/rubber-and-vulcanisation Last accessed 2 October 2014