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Thomas Young Elastic Solid Metal: Young's Modulus, Numerical Constant, Named For The 18th-Century

Young's modulus describes the elastic properties of materials under tension or compression. It measures a material's ability to resist changes in length from an applied force. Young's modulus is calculated as the longitudinal stress divided by the strain. For example, when a metal bar is pulled with a force, it elongates and its cross-sectional area decreases, resulting in stress and strain that can be used to calculate the bar's Young's modulus. Young's modulus is only meaningful within the elastic limit, where deformation is reversible and proportional to force.

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49 views2 pages

Thomas Young Elastic Solid Metal: Young's Modulus, Numerical Constant, Named For The 18th-Century

Young's modulus describes the elastic properties of materials under tension or compression. It measures a material's ability to resist changes in length from an applied force. Young's modulus is calculated as the longitudinal stress divided by the strain. For example, when a metal bar is pulled with a force, it elongates and its cross-sectional area decreases, resulting in stress and strain that can be used to calculate the bar's Young's modulus. Young's modulus is only meaningful within the elastic limit, where deformation is reversible and proportional to force.

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It'x Pathan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Young’s modulus, numerical constant, named for the 18th-century

English physician and physicist Thomas Young, that describes


the elastic properties of a solid undergoing tension or compression in
only one direction, as in the case of a metal rod that after being
stretched or compressed lengthwise returns to its original length.
Young’s modulus is a measure of the ability of a material to withstand
changes in length when under lengthwise tension or compression.
Sometimes referred to as the modulus of elasticity, Young’s modulus is
equal to the longitudinal stress divided by the strain. Stress and strain
may be described as follows in the case of a metal bar under tension.
If a metal bar of cross-sectional area A is pulled by a force F at each
end, the bar stretches from its original length L0 to a new length Ln.
(Simultaneously the cross section decreases.) The stress is the quotient
of the tensile force divided by the cross-sectional area, or F/A.
The strain or relative deformation is the change in length, Ln − L0,
divided by the original length, or (Ln − L0)/L0. (Strain is
dimensionless.) Thus Young’s modulus may be expressed
mathematically as

Metal bar under tension increases in length and decreases in cross sectionEncyclopædia
Britannica, Inc.
Young’s modulus = stress/strain = (FL0)/A(Ln − L0).
This is a specific form of Hooke’s law of elasticity. The units of Young’s
modulus in the English system are pounds per square inch (psi), and
in the metric system newtons per square metre (N/m2). The value of
Young’s modulus for aluminum is about 1.0 × 107 psi, or 7.0 ×
1010 N/m2. The value for steel is about three times greater, which
means that it takes three times as much force to stretch a steel bar the
same amount as a similarly shaped aluminum bar.
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Young’s modulus is meaningful only in the range in which the stress is
proportional to the strain, and the material returns to its original
dimensions when the external force is removed. As stresses increase,
the material may either flow, undergoing permanent deformation, or
finally break.

When a metal bar under tension is elongated, its width is slightly


diminished. This lateral shrinkage constitutes a transverse strain that
is equal to the change in the width divided by the original width. The
ratio of the transverse strain to the longitudinal strain is
called Poisson’s ratio. The average value of Poisson’s ratio for steels is
0.28, and for aluminum alloys, 0.33. The volume of materials that
have Poisson’s ratios less than 0.50 increase under longitudinal
tension and decrease under longitudinal compression.

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