Equivalent chain

{
  "id": "MLC-T-CHM-013076",
  "term": "Equivalent chain",
  "field": "Chemistry",
  "definition": "A hypothetical model used to represent a real polymer chain for the purpose of theoretical calculations of its physical properties. The model chain is constructed from a series of identical, freely-jointed linear segments, known as statistical segments. The parameters of the equivalent chain, such as the number and length of its segments, are chosen so that its contour length and mean-square end-to-end distance match those of the actual macromolecule it represents.",
  "subject": "Polymer",
  "references": [
    "Purple Book, 1st ed., p. 50 (http://old.iupac.org/publications/books/author/metanomski.html)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/chemistry/equivalent-chain/"
}