A couple of weeks ago you learned about the thermal properties of polymers and discussed such concepts as crystallinity, viscosity, and glass transition. Here is another source that talks about the states of matter as they relate to polymers from the Chemical Heritage Foundation.
A topic that is related to the concept of states of matter involves the April , 2010 BP Gulf oil situation. I found this article to be a good discussion of oil chemistry. In an underground deposit of gas and oil – in the case of the BP spill, one that is found under pressure, under rock, under deep water – all of these factors may contribute to the oil and its components being in a liquid state.
There is some speculation that a sudden release of methane hydrates – a component of the crude oil being tapped – possibly in combination with the addition of heat, may have caused the explosion at the BP well head. While this has not been proven, methane hydrates are considered to be a hazard in mining because a sudden release of pressure in the mining process enables the methane to quickly enter the gaseous state, sometimes with explosive results.
And, click here to see the size of the oil spill relative to a map of Cleveland, Ohio.
P.S. If you would like a lot more information about polymers, try this Open University site. The site is easy to read and, I think, provides interesting information to supplement what you are learning in CLiPS. This site won’t get you your PhD, but is more comprehensive than Wiki.
