Chemistry - Polymers

1. a substance which has a molecular structure built up largely or completely from a large number of similar units bonded together, e.g. many synthetic organic materials used as plastics and resins.

Thermosoftening polymers soften when heated and can be shaped when hot. The shape will harden when it is cooled, but can be reshaped when heated up again. Poly(ethene) is a thermosoftening polymer. Its tangled polymer chains can uncoil and slide past each other, making it a flexible material.