3. Sliminess and stickiness

‘Sliminess and stickiness’ examines the molecular origin of ‘stickiness’. It details Hermann Staudinger’s research on ‘double bonds’ and ‘macromolecules’. Understanding the unorthodox properties of the polymer liquid and gel state turned out to be one of the first successes of soft matter science. Staudinger faced a challenge: how much space would a polymer molecule occupy when in solution? Many of the mathematical techniques that had been developed to deal with the quantum mechanics of electrons, photons, and their interaction in solids could be translated into tools for solving polymer problems such as this one. The properties of rubber, and the sticky sliminess of rubbery liquids, are topics which relate to the notion of stickiness.