| Abstract: | It has been suggested that transverse sectioning of natural cellulose fibers can be used to test ideas about microfibril structure. This proposal has been examined theoretically and numerical calculations of the weight-distribution curve of sectioned chains are given for several different models. These calculations illustrate the effects that different types of chain folding have on the sectioned size distribution. The difficulties involved in the practical execution of this type of experiment are discussed and it is concluded that fiber-sectioning experiments described in the literature do not disprove the folded-chain hypothesis. |
