Elastic [ih-las-tik]

elastic modulus

or elastic constant

In materials science and physical metallurgy, any of various numbers that quantify the response of a material to elastic or springy deflection. When tensile stress is applied to a material, the resulting strain is determined by Young's modulus (see Thomas Young), a constant defined as the ratio of the stress in a body to the corresponding strain. It has dimensions of (force)/(length)2 and is measured in units such as the pascal or newton per square meter (1 Pa = 1 N/m2), dyne/cm2, or lbs per sq in. (psi). Seealso elasticity.

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Elastic may refer to:

  • Elastic collision, a term describing collisions in which kinetic energy is conserved
  • Elastic deformations, a term describing reversible deformations of materials
  • Elastic, a colloquial noun for certain kinds of elastomers and stretchable fabrics

See also

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