We study the scattering properties of a polymer gel uniaxially deformed by anisotropic swelling. Both the light- and neutron-scattering intensities appear to be greatly enhanced along the direction of maximum dilation. Using a scanning light-scattering device, we show that this effect is governed by the "quasistatic" fluctuations, in space, of the polymer concentration, and not by the "thermal" fluctuations.

• Received 7 April 1994

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.73.830