Mechanical testing is a suite of experimental techniques used to quantify the mechanical properties and deformation behavior of materials, components, or structures under controlled loading conditions. It encompasses methods such as tension, compression, bending, torsion, hardness, impact, fatigue, creep, and fracture toughness tests, performed using calibrated test machines and standardized specimen geometries. Measured responses—typically load, displacement, strain, and time—are analyzed to derive parameters including elastic modulus, yield strength, ultimate strength, ductility, hardness, fatigue life, creep rate, and fracture resistance, providing essential input for material selection, constitutive modeling, design verification, quality control, and failure analysis in engineering and materials research.
When cats fall, they usually land on their feet. This uncanny ability to right themselves before hitting the ground has long puzzled scientists. Now, a team from Yamaguchi University in Japan has the answer, and it's all ...
The unofficial soundtrack of every basketball, squash or hard-court tennis match is the constant high-pitched squeak or shriek of the players' shoes. But can this squeak be designed out of them while retaining the grip?
General Physics
Mar 6, 2026
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A new study from an interdisciplinary German research collaboration, led by the Haptic Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS), reveals the secret to the gentle dexterity of the ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 12, 2026
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Modern armor systems do not do a good enough job of protecting humans from blast-induced neurotrauma (brain and eye damage). To improve them, we may have to look to nature. In particular, a tiny shrimp that is able to protect ...
Constructed with tubulin heterodimers connected into a hollow cylinder, the microtubule, an essential component of the cytoskeleton, plays a vital role in various intracellular processes. In a recent study, a cross-disciplinary ...
Biotechnology
Feb 9, 2026
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Physical forces from gravity, muscle contraction, and more have strong impacts on how the cells in our bodies behave. For instance, weight-bearing exercise helps stave off osteoporosis because cells in our bones sense that ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 9, 2026
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In sending a car-sized rotorcraft to explore Saturn's moon Titan, NASA's Dragonfly mission will undertake an unprecedented voyage of scientific discovery. And the work to ensure this first-of-its-kind project can fulfill ...
Space Exploration
Jan 26, 2026
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A team of bio-robotic specialists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems has confirmed theories suggesting that scaly-tailed flying squirrels use their spiky tails to keep their perch in slippery trees. In their ...
A team of materials scientists, physicists, mechanical engineers, and molecular physiologists at Stanford University have developed a nanoparticle technique that can be used to measure force dynamics inside a living creature, ...
Mechanical force is an essential feature for many physical and biological processes. Remote measurement of mechanical signals with high sensitivity and spatial resolution is needed for a wide range of applications, from robotics ...
Nanophysics
Jan 1, 2025
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