Merevségét

Merevségét refers to the stiffness or rigidity of a material, structure or tissue, i.e., its resistance to deformation under an applied load. In physics and engineering the concept is closely related to stiffness and is often described using elastic moduli, such as Young’s modulus (E). The word is used to indicate the specific stiffness of an object or substance.

In materials science the merevség of a material depends on its bonding, crystal structure, microstructure, temperature and presence of defects. Metals generally exhibit high stiffness, ceramics are very stiff but brittle, and polymers show a wide range of stiffness values. Merevség is related but not identical to hardness; hardness measures resistance to localized plastic indentation, while merevség concerns resistance to elastic deformation and overall shape change under load.

Measurement of merevség is commonly performed with tension or compression tests, bending tests, or dynamic mechanical analysis to obtain elastic moduli. For thin films or microstructures, nanoindentation or microindentation methods are used. Results are typically expressed as Young’s modulus or shear modulus, with units of pascals (Pa). Representative ranges include metals in tens to hundreds of gigapascals (GPa), ceramics similar to metals, and polymers from megapascals to a few gigapascals, depending on composition and temperature.

In biology, tissue merevség is studied as a biomechanical property and can serve as a health indicator. Techniques such as elastography map stiffness in tissues and organs, with higher stiffness linked to aging, fibrosis or other pathological changes.

Etymology-wise, merevség comes from the adjective merev (stiff) with the nominal suffix -ség, and -ét can form possessive phrases like merevségét, meaning “its stiffness.”