ABSTRACT
When polymers are irradiated by a beam of x-rays, scattering produces diffuse halos on the photographic plate for some polymers, whereas for others a series of sharply defined rings superimposed on a diffuse background is recorded. The former are characteristic of amorphous polymers, and illustrate that a limited degree of shortrange order exists in most polymeric solids. The latter patterns are indicative of considerable three-dimensional order and are typical of polycrystalline samples containing a large number of unoriented crystallites associated with amorphous regions. The rings are observed to sharpen into arcs or discrete spots if the polymer is drawn or stretched, a process that orients the axes of the crystallites in one direction.
