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Other Stress-Strain Curves

Steel is ductile and has a high tensile strength.Glass is stiff and strong but not tough.Glass is brittle not ductile.Pure copper is a soft, ductile metal.
stiffness = gradientstrength = UTS (maximum tensile stress)
The toughness of steel and its ability to resist brittle fracture depend on a number of factors. Steel has imperfections which form very small cracks. If the steel is insufficiently tough, the 'crack' can propagate rapidly without plastic deformation and result in a brittle fracture.The risk of brittle fracture increases with thickness and tensile stress and cold temperatures.

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Specification: AQA Physics (7407), AS-level, 3.4.2.2 The Young modulus. Topic: Materials.

Key terms in this lesson

Potential difference
The energy transferred per unit charge as charge moves between two points in a circuit.
Potential divider
A circuit of two or more resistors in series connected across a source of fixed potential difference, used to produce a smaller, fixed or variable, output p.d.

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