An interesting connection between the mean straight length 〈ls〉 and the defined average number of kinks 〈nkink〉 in a polyelectrolyte chain configuration is found and described. 〈nkink〉 is found to be the dominant parameter throughout the entire range of the Bjerrum length λ and very sensitive to salt concentration. Identification of λm where (nkink values for various chain lengths coincide, as a percolation threshold is suggested. Considering the kink as a bond, it is found to be much more significant than the contacts described in a previous article as a new type of bonds. It is shown that the family of the physical statistical bonds includes not only contacts but also kinks. The kink fraction in a chain and the effective screening of 〈nkink〉 are defined and described for various values of λ. Through the use of these new parameters, pronounced size effects appear clearly. A connection between polymer systems and molecular cluster systems is proposed.
A general definition of effective screening in a polyelectrolyte chain is introduced to replace the definition formulated in a previous article. Using the new definition it is shown that the number of chain beads N affects screening at the investigated range of N. Additional evidence to our concept of equivalence of polyelectrolyte chains with added salt and partially charged bare chains is demonstrated by means of various parameters. Comparison of configurations obtained by different means is considered as well as which parameters are sufficient for the comparison.
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