Rubberlike Elasticity: A Molecular Primer

Description

Elastomers and rubberlike materials form a critical component in diverse applications that range from tyres to biomimetics and are used in chemical, biomedical, mechanical and electrical engineering. This updated and expanded edition provides an elementary introduction to the physical and molecular concepts governing elastic behaviour, with a particular focus on elastomers. The coverage of fundamental principles has been greatly extended and fully revised, with analogies to more familiar systems such as gases, producing an engaging approach to these phenomena. Dedicated chapters on novel uses of elastomers, covering bioelastomers, filled elastomers and liquid crystalline elastomers, illustrate the established and emerging applications at the forefront of physical science. With a list of experiments and demonstrations, problem sets and solutions, this is a self-contained introduction to the topic for graduate students, researchers and industrialists working in the applied fields of physics and chemistry, polymer science and engineering.

James E Mark is a Distinguished Research Professor for the department of Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. He has been a Visiting Professor at several institutions as well as having extensive research and consulting experience in industry. His current research interests pertain to the physical chemistry of polymers, including the elasticity of polymer networks, hybrid organic-inorganic composites, liquid-crystalline polymers, and a variety of computer simulations. A Fellow of the American Physical Society, he is also an editor of the journal Polymer . Amongst numerable achievements, he has been awarded the ACS Applied Polymer Science award and was also elected to the Inaugural Group of Fellows (ACS Division of Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering). Burak Erman is a Professor in the department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey, where he has been since 2002. His research interests are focused on rubber elasticity; polymer and protein physics and engineering, both experiment and theory, including computer simulations. In 1984, he founded and became Director of the Polymer Research Center at Bogazici University, before moving in 1988 to the Sabanci University in Istanbul where he founded the Chemistry and Materials Science Program. In 1991, he received both the Simavi Science Award and the TUBITAK Science Award. He is founder and member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences.

Review of the first edition: 'This book is an introductory level, thoroughly referenced presentation of rubberlike elasticity in a concise but clear manner ... In summary, the average reader should find Rubberlike Elasticity, A Molecular Primer useful and quite interesting.' Journal of the American Chemical Society Review of the first edition: 'The structure of this book...put me in mind of a Chinese banquet. The reader is presented with a short, but well written and presented account of all the major aspects of rubberlike elasticity, and is left with the impression of having dined rather well...[A] welcome addition to academic reading lists ... This book is eminently readable and well produced.' Chemistry in Britain