The effect of various variables, such as type of stress, stress magnitude, duration of stressing, and environment on the initiation and development of crazing in linear polymers is discussed. The basic nature of crazing is investigated in some detail for polystyrene specimens by means of the light microscope, the electron microscope and the x‐ray spectrometer. The results of these observations and their bearing on the fundamental group structure of polystyrene molecules is presented. The relationship between crazing and orientation is discussed, as well as the effect of both of these factors on the mechanical properties. The experimental results are compared, wherever possible, with the previously reported data of other investigators. A short discussion is then given of a theory of crazing from the point of view of the molecular structure of the material.
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