The Deborah number is particularly useful in conceptualizing the time–temperature superposition principle. Time-temperature superposition has to do with altering experimental time scales using reference temperatures to extrapolate temperature-dependent mechanical properties of polymers. A material at low temperature with a long experimental or relaxation time behaves like the same material at high temperature and short experimental or relaxation time if the Deborah number remains the same. This can be particularly useful when working with materials which relax on a long time scale under a certain temperature. The practical application of this idea arises in the Williams–Landel–Ferry equation. Time-temperature superposition avoids the inefficiency of measuring a polymer's behavior over long periods of time at a specified temperature by utilizing the Deborah number.