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The structure of polystyrene

Polystyrene is an aromatic polymer made from the aromatic monomer styrene. Because it is an aromatic hydrocarbon, it burns with an orange-yellow flame, giving off soot. At room temperature, polystyrene is normally a solid thermoplastic, but can be melted at a higher temperature for molding and then solidified. Pure solid polystyrene is a colorless, hard plastic with limited flexibility. It is brittle but hard enough that a fairly high-performance product can be made by giving it some of the properties of a stretchy material. It can be cast into molds with fine detail. Expanded polystyrene is predominately applied in building construction such as full building insulation and impact sound insulation and recently structural insulated panel building systems. Extruded polystyrene, which is different from expanded polystyrene, is commonly known by the trade name Styrofoam.

References:

http://www.dow.com/sconapor/english/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polystyrene

http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/h00069.asp

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