Freely jointed chain

{
  "id": "MLC-T-CHM-004662",
  "term": "Freely jointed chain",
  "field": "Chemistry",
  "definition": "A theoretical model of a polymer chain composed of rigid segments of fixed length, connected by universal joints that allow free rotation in any direction. This model assumes no correlation between the orientations of adjacent segments. It is a simplified representation used to calculate the mean-square end-to-end distance and radius of gyration of ideal polymer chains.",
  "subject": "Polymer",
  "see_also": [
    "linear chain",
    "probability"
  ],
  "references": [
    "Purple Book, 1st ed., p. 50 (http://old.iupac.org/publications/books/author/metanomski.html)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/chemistry/freely-jointed-chain/"
}