How Random Is a Random Polymer Coil?

Short range order within amorphous, random polymer structures is a well known and widely studied property of disordered systems. An aggregate of five random atactic chains, each comprising 400 building units was computer-generated and then used to calculate neutron coherent scattering intensity for 0.01 < Q < 30 $nm^{-1}$ (0.001 < Q < 3 $Å^{-1}$). The latter was compared with experimental data within the diffuse scattering range. On the grounds of quantum chemical calculations for an atactic polystyrene tetramer and the above information it is concluded that interactions among phenyl rings are responsible for the onset of the local order in this polymer.