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Related Concept Videos

Tension01:10

Tension

Tension is a force along the length of a medium, in particular, a force carried by a flexible medium, such as a rope or cable. The word "tension" comes from Latin, meaning "to stretch". Not coincidentally, the flexible cords that carry muscle forces to other parts of the body are called tendons. Any flexible connector, such as a string, rope, chain, wire, or cable, can exert pull only parallel to its length; so, a force carried by a flexible connector is a tension with a direction parallel to...
Tension01:10

Tension

Tension is a force along the length of a medium, in particular, a force carried by a flexible medium, such as a rope or cable. The word "tension" comes from Latin, meaning "to stretch". Not coincidentally, the flexible cords that carry muscle forces to other parts of the body are called tendons. Any flexible connector, such as a string, rope, chain, wire, or cable, can exert pull only parallel to its length; so, a force carried by a flexible connector is a tension with a direction parallel to...
Cable Subjected to a Distributed Load01:24

Cable Subjected to a Distributed Load

The analysis of suspension bridges is a complex and critical process that involves multiple factors, including the shape and tension of the main cables. The main cables of suspension bridges are subjected to distributed loads, which result in changes in tensile forces and deformation of the cable. These loads must be carefully considered to ensure that the bridge is safe and capable of supporting the weight of different loads.
Cable Subjected to Concentrated Loads01:28

Cable Subjected to Concentrated Loads

Flexible cables are commonly used in various applications for support and load transmission. Consider a cable fixed at two points and subjected to multiple vertically concentrated loads. Determine the shape of the cable and the tension in each portion of the cable, given the horizontal distances between the loads and supports.
Conformations of Cycloalkanes02:29

Conformations of Cycloalkanes

Adolf von Baeyer attempted to explain the instabilities of small and large cycloalkane rings using the concept of angle strain — the strain caused by the deviation of bond angles from the ideal 109.5° tetrahedral value for sp3  hybridized carbons. However, while cyclopropane and cyclobutane are strained, as expected from their highly compressed bond angles, cyclopentane is more strained than predicted, and cyclohexane is virtually strain-free. Hence, Baeyer’s theory that was based on the...
Conformations of Cyclohexane02:11

Conformations of Cyclohexane

Cyclohexane does not exist in a planar form due to the high angle and torsional strain it would experience in the planar structure. Instead, it adopts non-planar chair and boat conformations.
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal tetrahedral value,...

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DNA Nanotubes as a Versatile Tool to Study Semiflexible Polymers
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Published on: October 25, 2017

Chains are more flexible under tension.

Andrey V Dobrynin1, Jan-Michael Y Carrillo, Michael Rubinstein

  • 1Polymer Program, Institute of Materials Science and Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269.

Macromolecules
|March 19, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

We developed a unified model for polymer chain elasticity, bridging worm-like and freely-jointed chain behaviors. This model accurately predicts polymer deformation across various forces and chain rigidities.

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Area of Science:

  • Polymer Physics
  • Materials Science
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • The mechanical response of polymer networks, gels, and brush layers originates from the elastic properties of individual macromolecules.
  • Single-molecule force spectroscopy techniques rely on understanding the elastic response of macromolecules to applied forces.
  • Existing models like worm-like and freely-jointed chains have limitations in describing polymer elasticity under diverse conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a unified model for polymer chain deformation that bridges the gap between worm-like and freely-jointed chain models.
  • To provide a model that accurately describes the force-deformation curve based on chain bending constant (K) and bond length (b).
  • To elucidate the crossover behavior between different polymer deformation regimes.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a theoretical model for chain deformation incorporating chain bending constant (K) and bond length (b).
  • Analysis of the model to identify distinct deformation regimes (worm-like and freely-jointed chain) and their crossover conditions.
  • Comparison of the proposed model's predictions with molecular dynamics simulations and experimental data from single-molecule force spectroscopy.

Main Results:

  • The proposed unified model demonstrates that worm-like and freely-jointed chain models represent limiting regimes of polymer deformation.
  • A crossover expression for chain deformation is presented, dependent on chain bending rigidity and applied force magnitude.
  • Polymer chains exhibit worm-like behavior for low forces (f ≤ Kk(B)T/b) and freely-jointed chain behavior for high forces (f ≥ Kk(B)T/b).

Conclusions:

  • The unified chain deformation model successfully integrates different polymer elasticity regimes.
  • The model's predictions show excellent agreement with molecular dynamics simulations and experimental single-molecule deformation data.
  • This work provides a more comprehensive understanding of polymer mechanical responses, applicable to both biological and synthetic macromolecules.