Definition

1. Noun:
   • (Physics): A measure of a material's resistance to being deformed when a force (stress) is applied to it. Specifically, it is the ratio of stress (force per unit area) to strain (proportional deformation) in the range where the material behaves elastically (returns to its original shape when the force is removed). It quantifies the stiffness of an elastic material.

Usage and Examples

• Noun:
  • Steel has a high modulus of elasticity, which makes it very stiff and resistant to bending.
  • To calculate the deformation of the beam, the engineer needed to know the material's modulus of elasticity.
  • Rubber typically has a low modulus of elasticity compared to metals.

Advanced Usage

• "Young's modulus": This is the most common and specific type of modulus of elasticity, applying to tensile or compressive stress (pulling or pushing forces) in one direction.
  • The Young's modulus of aluminum is approximately 69 GPa.
• "Shear modulus" and "Bulk modulus": These are other specific moduli of elasticity describing a material's response to different types of stress (shearing forces and uniform pressure, respectively).

Variants and Related Terms

• Elastic modulus: A synonymous term for modulus of elasticity.
• Stiffness constant: A more general term sometimes used in a similar context.
• Young's modulus (E): The tensile/compressive elastic modulus.
• Shear modulus (G): The modulus for shear deformation.
• Bulk modulus (K): The modulus for volumetric compression.

Synonyms

• Stiffness constant
• Elastic modulus

Related Concepts (Not Phrasal Verbs or Idioms)

• Stress: The applied force per unit area.
• Strain: The resulting deformation (change in length, shape, or volume) relative to the original dimension.
• Elastic limit: The maximum stress a material can withstand while still returning to its original shape.
• Hooke's Law: The principle that, within the elastic limit, stress is directly proportional to strain. The modulus of elasticity is the constant of proportionality in this law.

Noun

1. (physics) the ratio of the applied stress to the change in shape of an elastic body