Polymers(long chain like molecules) can form topological knots when being synthesized and when crystallizing. Understanding the role of knots in bulk polymer is important because polymer knots can have vastly different thermodynamic properties than their un-knotted counterparts. This means that in order to build accurate theoretical models for bulk polymer properties. They are also relevant to my research, because I work on nano fibers, where knots represent a fundamental limit on fiber diameter. You should care about this because polymers, such as plastics, are increasingly replacing traditional materials in manufacturing including the high tech industry in applications such as phones, wearable electronics, and solar cells. If we can understand what gives the materials we use their properties, we can engineer cheaper and more effective materials to push the boundaries of engineering and science.
The down side is that there are an infinite number of knots and the frequency at which they occur can vary. This means that finding how knots fit into thermodynamic properties of bulk polymers is both computationally expensive and not completely understood .
<- an example of a “topological knot”
gbarkle
February 20, 2018 — 02:43
This is an interesting topic. I can see how there is a lot that could be studied in this area; you could look at how often a given knot is formed or which knots are formed most often as a part of polymer formation. Or you could examine how the presence of certain knots affects elasticity, compressibility, or the thermodynamic properties of a polymer. I look forward to hearing what you find out!