the.com/tensile strength
how hard you can pull something before it stops being one thing.
means the maximum stress a material can take while being stretched before it snaps or permanently deforms.
from from latin tendere, to stretch; formalized as engineers in the 1800s needed to know exactly how much load a bridge cable or rail could take before failing, turning blacksmith intuition into measurable science.
measured inpascals or pounds per square inch
spider silkstronger by weight than steel
two typesyield strength versus ultimate strength differ
testing methodmachines literally pull samples until they break
for instance
kevlar — vests stop bullets using fiber tensile strength, since 1965
golden gate cables — each main cable holds over 200 million pounds
spider silk — draglines rival steel at a fraction of the weight
carbon fiber — formula 1 monocoques survive 200 mph crashes intact