Abstract
AbstractLow‐density bulk polyethylene was subjected to gamma radiation doses between 0.1 and 100 megarads. Surfaces produced by fracture at liquid nitrogen temperatures were studied using scanning electron microscopy. The unirradiated polyethylene and polymer irradiated to 0.1 megarad had spherical units with a diameter of about 0.15 micron lying on the fracture surface. The units lay along the edges of the lamellae and were formed by the fracture that was, therefore, not entirely brittle. Polyethylene irradiated between 1 megarad and 100 megarads exhibited spherical voids, with a diameter of about 0.1 micron in the fracture surface. The voids have been produced either by the evolution of gas in the polymer during irradiation, the most likely mechanism, or as a function of the fracture mechanism only.
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