Term Categories: Glossary

The phenomenon leading to fracture under repeated or fluctuating stresses having a maximum values less than the tensile strength of the material. Fatigue fractures are progressive, beginning as minute cracks that grow under the action of the fluctuating stresses.

A negatively charged particle that is in constant motion and generally orbits the nucleus of an atom. The electron is the lightest known particle that possesses a charge.

A field that is created when energy from a power source such as a battery is applied to a circuit, making the electrons flow through a conductor, a new type of field is developed around the wire.

A piece of metallic material that acts as an electric contact with a non-metal. It often refers to an instrument designed to measure an electrical response that is proportional to the condition being assessed (e.g. pH, resistivity).

Pertaining to combined electrical and chemical action. Deterioration (corrosion) of a metal occurs when an electrical current flows between cathodic and anodic areas on metal surfaces.

The total opposition that a circuit presents to an alternating current.

The movement of electrons between atoms.

Contact of two conductors allowing current to pass.

The ratio of the stress applied to an elastic body to the change in its shape.