• id: JME-08-N01
• title: Elasticity vs Plasticity
• tags: elasticity, plasticity, deformation

Elasticity is the property of a material to regain its original shape and size after the removal of the deforming force. Plasticity is the opposite — the body retains permanent deformation. No material is perfectly elastic or perfectly plastic. Quartz is the closest to a perfectly elastic body, while putty or clay is nearly perfectly plastic. The concept of elasticity is a bulk property — it arises from intermolecular forces. At the atomic level, when atoms are displaced from their equilibrium positions, restoring forces pull them back (within the elastic limit).