Entropic elasticity of dilated and contorted idealized circular chains.
Thermal energy provides random motion to particles that leads to the well-known entropic force, which favors the clumping of linear and circular molecules. We evaluate the entropic force which resists the radial dilation and subsequent twisting out of plane of circular polymers by developing mechanical models and performing molecular dynamics simulations. We find that dilating a circular chain is analogous to stretching its linear counterpart. We also find that the torque applied to an already dilated ring and the resulting twist out of plane are related by a linear relationship for a wide range of deformed configurations and, using this result, we are able to predict the angular fluctuations of such a macromolecule.
Bertrand
Martin
M
Institut de physique Ottawa-Carleton, Campus de l'Université d'Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Forget
Martin
M
Joós
Béla
B