Plastic wrap that changes color under pressure

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode, Elena and Marcus unpack "Thermally induced compressive stress and optical response in heat shrinkable polymer films", published as a Journal of Polymer Research 2026 paper. Heat-shrinkable PVC film in isometric thermal cycling develops compressive stress of 0.8–3.5 MPa, stabilizing at 2.5 ± 0.3 MPa after cooling; values are an upper bound for real cable-joint sleeve geometry. Part of a series covering all 575 of Prof. Volinsky's publications, one episode at a time. Paper DOI: 10.1007/s10965-026-05038-7. Note: voices in this episode are AI-generated: Elena and Marcus.