In structural engineering and material science, fast fracture is a term given to a phenomenon in which a flaw (such as a crack) in a material expands quickly, and leads to catastrophic failure of the material. Stress acting on a material when fast fracture occurs is less than the material's yield stress. A very representative example of this is what happens when poking a blown up balloon with a needle, that is, fast fracture of the balloon's material.
Famous quotes containing the word fast:
“The current flows fast and furious. It issues in a spate of words from the loudspeakers and the politicians. Every day they tell us that we are a free people fighting to defend freedom. That is the current that has whirled the young airman up into the sky and keeps him circulating there among the clouds. Down here, with a roof to cover us and a gasmask handy, it is our business to puncture gasbags and discover the seeds of truth.”
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)