Interesting Read from CMoG

Why Does Glass Break?

Last week we started to look at the question of why optical fiber bends so much. We learned that glass is rigid at an atomic level and metal has more flexibility. In order to really understand why things do not break, we need to know why and when they do break.

Materials break, or give, at the weakest point. In metal, usually the bonds are the weakest point, and since the bonds are flexible, the metal can flex without breaking. Flexibility can add a lot of strength because it can withstand force by giving a little rather than breaking. Think of a willow tree vs an oak tree….