Polymer Chain Formation (2D)

This 2D simulator visualizes polymerization from the ground up: free-floating monomer units drift in a reaction vessel until an initiator triggers a chain reaction, and each captured monomer links onto the growing chain at a randomly perturbed angle, tracing a random-walk conformation like a real polymer coil in solution. Switch between addition polymerization (monomers snap together one by one with no byproduct, as in polyethylene) and condensation polymerization (alternating A and B monomers bond while releasing a small water molecule at each step, as in nylon or polyester), then raise the monomer concentration to speed up the reaction or raise the temperature to see the chain coil more loosely. Live readouts track the degree of polymerization, the reaction's conversion percentage, and an estimated molecular weight as the chain grows.