The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1974 was awarded to Paul J. Flory "for his fundamental achievements, both theoretical and experimental, in the physical chemistry of the macromolecules".
 

This year's Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Paul J. Flory, has done epoch making research in the field of the physical chemistry of macromolecules. Flory has introduced a new concept, theta temperature and theta point properties. A simplified description is as follows: If a polymer molecule is dissolved in a good solvent agent then the chain is somewhat stretched out as the attraction forces between the chain and the solvent molecules are stronger than those between the different links in the chain. Flory has also demonstrated how quantities used in the theory can be determined experimentally by measurements of viscosity, light dispersion, ultra centrifugation and diffusion. Flory has done pioneer research in elucidating the formation of polymer molecules.