surface defect

Surface defects may arise at the boundary between two grains, or small crystals, within a larger crystal. The rows of atoms in two different grains may run in slightly different directions, leading to a mismatch across the grain boundary. The actual external surface of a…

…microscopic flaws, generally on the surface. Apparently, surface flaws are produced in glass by abrasion with most solids—even by the touch of a finger and particularly by another piece of glass that rubs against it during manufacture. Flaws have a stress-concentrating effect; that is, the effective stress at the tip…