PHYSICS FORMULAE & CONCEPTS

ELASTICITY
Unit : N/m 2 or Pascal.
1. Rigid Body : a. If the stress is normal to the surface, it is
A body whose size and shape cannot be called normal stress. If the stress is tan-
changed, however large the applied force gential to the surface, it is called tangential
may be is called rigid body. stress.
There is no perfectly rigid body in nature.
Normal restoring force
Normal stress 
2. Deformation force : Area of cross section
The force which changes the size or shape Tangential restoring force
or both of a body without moving it as a Shearing stress 
Area of cross section
whole is called deformation force.
b. When normal stress changes the
3. Restoring force : volume of the body then it is called
Volume Stress or Bulk Stress. It is
The force which restores the size and shape
denoted by ‘P’.
of the body when deformation force is re-
c. Longitudinal stress is called tensile stress
moved is called restoring force.
when there is an increase in length and
Magnitude of restoring force is equal to the
compresive stress when there is at
deformation force. But they are in opposite
decrease in length.
direction. They do not form action, reaction
pair. This force is responsible for the elastic d. Longitudinal stress and bulk stress are
nature of the normal stresses which produce change in
size, shearing stress is a tangential stress
body.
which produce change in shape.
7. Strain :
4. Elasticity :
The change produced per unit dimension is
The property of a material by virtue of which it
called strain.
regains its original size and shape when defor-
mation force is removed is called elasticity. change in dimension
Ex : Steel, Rubber.
Strain 
original dimension
No body is perfectly elastic, but quartz is the
nearest example. changein length e
Longitudinal strain  
Elasticity is molecular property of matter. original length 
Shearing strain:-
5. Plasticity :
The property of a material by virtue of which
it does not regain the size and shape when
the de formation force is removed is called
Plasticity.
Ex : Putty dough, Chewing gum, Soldering
lead
No body is perfectly plastic but putty is near-
est example.
relative displacement between two layers
Shearing strain 
6. Stress : distance between the layers
The restoring force per unit area is called
x
stress.  
L
restoring force F This strain is due to the change in shape of
Stress = =
area of cross section A the body.

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Volumetric strain (or) Bulk strain 12. Bulk modulus (B)
With in the elastic limit the ratio between vol-
change in volume  V
  ume stress and bulk strain is called bulk
original volume V modulus.
Negative sign indicates decrease in volume
volume stress
Bulk modulus 
8. Elastic limit : bulk strain
The maximum value of the stress with in
F
which the body regains its original size and
V F  PV
shape is B A  
called elastic limit. V V A V
9. Hooke's law : V
With in the elastic limit, stress is directly (- sign shows decrease in volume)
proportional to strain.
Stress 13. The reciprocal of bulk modulus is called
E
Strain 1
com pressibility K 
With in the elastic limit, stress-strain graph is B
a straight line passing through the origin.
14. Poisson's ratio (  )
The ratio lateral contraction strain to the
longitudinal elongation strain is called
Stress

Poisson'sratio.
Strain lateral contraction strain

longitudin al elongation strain
Slope of the graph is E.
transverse strain r / r
10. Young's modulus (Y) :   =
longitudin al strain  / 
longitudin al stress F
Y  r
longitudin al strain Ae
 x r
If load attached to the wire is M, then
i) As it is a ratio, it has no units and
F = Mg, and A  r 2
dimension.
Mg ii) Theoretical limits of   1 to 0.5
Y
r 2e Practical limits of   0 to 0.5
iii) For an incompressible substance   0.5
11. Rigidity modulus :
With in the elastic limit, the ratio of tangential
15. Thermal force :
stress to the shearing strain is called rigidity
modulus. When a metal bar is fixed between two
supports and heated, it tries to expand and
tangential stress exerts force on the walls. This is called
Rigidity modulus = thermal force.
shearing strain
F  AY 
F
  Thermal force is independent of length of the
A
bar.
If  is small for a wire, it can be twisted Thermal stress (linear compressive stress)
easily.

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force AY 17. Strain energy per unit volume (energy den-
  Y . sity)
area A
1 1
E x stress x strain  Y ( Strain) 2
16. The work done in stretching a wire / elastic 2 2
potential energy in a stretched wire
(Stress) 2  Stress 
1 Also, E  Y  Strain 
W  Stress x Strain x Volume 2Y
2
Potential
1 1 e2 AY
W Fe 
2 2 

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