Basic Role of Thermal Analysis in Polymer Physics

Abstract

‘Works in the field of calorimetry were very appreciated in the physics of the nineteenth century but for decades are not a part of physics and belong to the engineering science…’ [1], this sentence is the most nonsensical one which has been ever written about calorimetry. One can easy find that although calorimetry is a somewhat ‘primitive’ experimental technique, it, however, is the one which does not disturb a sample physical state during the preparation process that is necessary in polymer physics. The more complicated measurement apparatus, the more the system under investigation is disturbed. Moreover, one can easy show that there is a set of experimental techniques of thermal analysis (TA), which, if applied correctly, give us a comprehensive description of the studied system under study. There are only two questions: which methods of TA and how they should be used. Certainly, it is not a problem for an experienced experimentalist who understands the basis of thermodynamics and who is able to apply the basic rules of physics in practice. It is true that some knowledge about the technical aspects of the instrument construction is required. It means that we should hardly work in our laboratories in order to improve our knowledge about the techniques used. Some incidental experiment, performed by technicians, is not sufficient for so called ‘theoreticians’ who try to involve in experimental comprehension. We will not improve any theory if we do not understand experiments and, likewise, we are unable to interpret measured parameters. There is no sense to ‘produce’ theories if they are not applicable, if they do not reflect reality. We also know that it is not easy to find an adequate theory which is confirmed totally by an experiment, especially, if we take into account ‘many-body systems’. Physics is not able to describe completely (and without approximations) systems which include more than three bodies. Therefore any theory or formula describing a polymeric system will be only a more or less good approximation reflecting a real situation occurred during an experiment.