elastic deformation

noun

, Physics.

1. the temporary change in length, volume, or shape produced in an elastic substance by a stress that is less than the elastic limit of the substance.

Example Sentences

A change in the crystal structure results in an elastic deformation.

From Science Daily

According to state data, he said, the ground level rose nearly an inch within a year after sinking about 3 inches over the last decade — an uplift that scientists describe as a recoverable “elastic” deformation of the land surface.

From Los Angeles Times

This type of "springy" behavior is called elastic deformation.

From Scientific American

In the case of homogeneous elastic deformation, produced by pressure on all sides, the effect on the crystal is the same as that due to changes of temperature; and the surfaces expressing the compression coefficients in different directions have the same higher degree of symmetry, being either a sphere, spheroid or ellipsoid.

From Project Gutenberg

Instead, scientists are leaning increasingly to the idea that other factors may be involved, notably a concept called elastic deformation, in which moving land masses snag against each other and force some of the earth's crust to roll up like a rug pushed against a wall.

From Time Magazine Archive