The maximum end-to-end distance of a
linear polymer chain. For a
single-strand polymer molecule, this usually means the end-to-end distance of the chain extended to the
all-
transconformation. For chains with complex structure, only an approximate value of the contour length
may be accessible. The sum of the lengths of all skeletal bonds of a
single-strand polymer molecule is occasionally termed '
contour length'. This use of this term is discouraged.
Source: