do you like neoprene?

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Hmmm, maybe. It it isn't too tight. I don't like tight clothes.

do you like things that feel like someone is giving you a hug?

YES! Yes I do.


Oh, and I think you'd be pleased to hear that I purchased a new laptop, and I also bought a protective laptop case for it.

And the case is made of.....

NEOPRENE!

I prefer Lycra, tight to my skin as if I have a second skin, smooth and hairless

I have never heard of Neoprene so I guess I will google it becuase everyone here talks as if it is the most amazing substance on Earth

then you would definitely love neoprene

how do you like the case

if i had a neoprene case id be rubbing it all the time hahhaha..

hows about NEOPRENE LAPTOP!

I love the case, it is all nice and squishy, and it seems to protect my valuable investment very well. I was poking the case and squeezing it for a few minutes before I put it into my bookbag.

The Polymerisation of and Physical properties of Neoprene

Neoprene is a synthetic elastomer: a kind of man-made rubber. Elastomers stretch easily and return to their original shapes after stretching. Neoprene was originally developed by Wallace Carothers (the same man who invented nylon).

Air can be bubbled through liquid neoprene to form an elastomeric foam. Neoprene foam sheets are light, but tough, durable and flexible. Air trapped inside the foam gives neoprene heat insulating and shock absorbing properties. This makes neoprene ideal for use in orthopaedic braces (harnesses such as your Melissa), knee pads, sports gloves, wet-suits, pet collars and even my mouse mat!

Neoprene is a polymer. A polymer is a very long molecular chain formed by chemically linking smaller molecules called monomers. Mono means “one unit” and poly means “many units”. We call such long molecules such as polymers macromolecules. Think of a polymer as being like a very long necklace chain. In this analogy, each monomer is like a link in this chain.

The monomer of Neoprene is a molecule called chloroprene. Chloroprene’s simplified structural formula (in chemical short-hand) is:

H2C= C(Cl)-CH=CH2

Where:
H represents a hydrogen atom.
C represents a carbon atom.
Cl represents a chlorine atom.
= represents a double covalent bond
- represents a single covalent bond

This molecule of chloroprene is unsaturated (contains double carbon bonds) and is hence very reactive. The polymer Neoprene is produced from monomers of chloroprene by the process of addition polymerisation.

The process of addition polymerisation involves molecules with unpaired free electrons (called free radicals) attacking the double bonds of the monomer. These free radicals are called “initiators” because they start a chain reaction. This chain reaction propagates to form a chain as weakened double bonds weakened by the free radicals, release free electrons of their own. The free electrons from the double bonds attack and weaken more double bonds, which in turn release more free electrons and so on...

When a pair of free radicals react with each other to form a stable molecule that’s not part of the main polymer, this is called termination. The process of polymerisation continues until all the free radicals are used up.

There may be hundreds of thousands of monomer molecules joined together in a single polymer. The chemical name for the polymer of Neoprene is polychloroprene, which literally means “many joined molecules of chloroprene”.

A simplified general structural formula for polychloroprene (Neoprene) is:

[-CH2-C(Cl)=CH-CH2-]n

Where n is the number of monomers that underwent addition polymerisation.

You’ll notice that there is a double carbon bond in the middle of each joined monomer unit. Hence, the resulting polymer is an unsaturated molecule. This is a consequence of the polymerisation chain reaction. Double bonds in the centre of a molecule are more chemically stable (less reactive) than those at the ends of the molecule.

:cry: I wish neoprene were more popular..