There are five categories of energy stimuli that every material must respond to: mechanical, thermal, electrical, chemical and optical. Beyond these five categories are many less important ones, and a more comprehensive list of material properties can be found here. An input of one or more of these energies will produce a change in the material’s composition or microstructure.
Mechanical properties refers to the behavior of a material when subjected to a force or load; there are many different types of forces including weight, shear force, torsion, impact, moment, etc. Mechanical properties will determine what happens under these situations, and the reaction is based on what types of atomic and molecular level arrangements the material has. The most common measurement of mechanical properties is a material’s strength, which is described by many different measures, such as malleability, toughness, etc.
All materials respond to mechanical input, but can have different reactions based upon their material type and composition. Metals and alloys, along with woods and stone, are known for having high resistances to high levels of load, but cannot respond with the elasticity of other materials like rubber due to their chemical makeup, and how their molecules and atoms are structured.
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