The physical aging of polycarbonate was investigated with dynamic viscoelastic measurements. Physical aging was observed for samples aged at 110 degreesC (QA) and room temperature (QP) after being quenched from the molten state. The shapes of the temperature dispersion curves of the dynamic viscoelastic functions (E', E ", and tan delta) of the QA and QP samples changed with aging time in a temperature range below the glass-transition temperature (T-g). However, at temperatures close to but below T-g, the curves for the aged samples merged into the curve of the quenched sample at a temperature denoted T-H. T-H increased with aging time. The experimental results suggest that the aged sample has a memory of having been quenched and that as the sample approaches the equilibrium state, this memory is lost. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms showed an endothermic peak below T-g for the QA samples. The peak temperature (T-p) also increased with aging time. T-H and T-p of the QA samples were approximately the same. The increase of both T-H and T-p with aging time indicates that the structure of the polymeric chain in the glassy state relaxes over larger segment scale lengths because the scale of the movable segments is related to temperature. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.