| Abstract: | Experimental details of a method for sectioning rubbers and plastics at room temperature are presented. Usually specimens are embedded in a butyl-isobutyl methacrylate mixture (provided that they do not dissolve in the monomer) which can be polymerised by ultra-violet light to varying hardness. This enables sections through fibres and surfaces to be obtained. Because of distortion of the surface layers the angle between the knife and specimen is critical. The thickness of these distorted surface layers rather than the total thickness of the specimen provides a limit to the resolution obtained. Choice of the sectioning angle was made primarily by means of sense of touch, so that a microtome design incorporating a direct transmission of pressure from specimen to hand is needed. |
