Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
Consider a homopolymer consisting of rigid and flexible sequences in alternating succession. The prototype is
The degree of polymerization DP is very large. The oxyethylene units may occur in various disordered conformations or in the ordered one, ttt, with a statistical weight s* compared with unity for the disordered forms, collectively. Let γζ be the number of rigid sequences containing ζ rigid units, i.e., consisting of ζ rigid members joined by ζ-1 oxyethylene units in extended (ordered, ttt) conformations, the oxyethylene units flanking this sequence being otherwise conformed.