Heat Capacities of Polyethylene IV. High Molecular Weight Linear Polyethylene

A high molecular weight linear polyethylene sample has been studied by adiabatic calorimetry from 10 to 380 K. Two broad temperature regions of unusual spontaneous temperature drift have been observed. The phenomena occurring around 240 K are similar to that observed in other polyethylene samples studied in this series, and are presumed to be caused by the relaxational processes in the amorphous phase. The weak exothermic behavior occurring around 160 K is presumed to be caused by the stabilization of the quenched sample.