What Can Cosmic Radiation Cause in Polymers?

In our research the influence of the cosmic radiation on different types of polymers was investigated. Main focus was on the mechanical properties, which includes elongation at break, tensile strength and impact strength. Polypropylene, polyamide 6.6 and polycarbonate were used as materials. All of the test pieces were injection molded with the same technological settings. These specimens were placed at ground laboratory and different flying height airplanes (on Earth, at 5500 m, at 12000 m). Mechanical properties were investigated. We found that cosmic radiation may induce change in some of the mechanical properties of polypropylene, polyamide 6.6 and polycarbonate. (paper)