High-modulus structures of linear polyethylene with Young’s moduli of 70 GPa may be generated, for example, by drawing meltspun fibers to very high draw ratios’), solid-state extrusion (e. g., cf.’)) and by the solution-crystallization technique referred to as surface growth3). The tensile strength of the drawn and extruded materials is usually found below 1 GPa, whereas the longitudinal crystals of Zwijnenburg and Pennings may have a strength as high as 3 GPa. The superior strength of the latter filaments, which have comparable Young’s moduli, is due to the high molecular weight of the polymer sample used4*’). Previous attempts to draw or extrude polyethylene of similar molecular weight to high draw ratios only succeeded at relatively high temperatures, in fact above the melting point, where the effectiveness of the chain-extension process is known to be low (see6)). The structures thus produced, therefore, exhibited but moderately improved mechanical properties6). In a wide-ranging study on the processability of high molecular weight polymers it has been found that the effective drawability of these materials is drastically enhanced by spinning” or casting from dilute solutions. This effect will be illustrated in the present paper for polyethylene, and this improved drawability will be discussed in terms of a favourable intermolecular topology of the polymer.