elasticity: Quick Facts

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Photos

Diagram illustrating Hooke's law with three vertical springs: the first spring is unstretched, the second is stretched by a force F with extension x, and the third is stretched further by force 2F with extension 2x, showing the proportional relationship between force and extension.

Figure 7: Transverse motion of an initially straight beam, shown at left as an elastic line and at right as a solid of finite section (see text).

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Topics

strain-energy function toughness proportional limit viscoelasticity stored-energy function extension ratio elastic modulus elastic rebound rigidity Hooke’s law radiation radioactivity cluster isomerism temperature entropy polarity heat symmetry pH

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Key People

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Augustin-Louis Cauchy

French mathematician

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Sophie Germain

French mathematician

Ctesibius of Alexandria

Ctesibius Of Alexandria

Greek physicist and inventor

Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations. circa 1950.

Physics and Natural Law