Compression (physical)
Physical compression is the result of the subjection of a material or structure to compressive stress, which results in reduction of volume as compared to an uncompressed but otherwise identical state. The opposite of compression in a solid is tension. In any medium transmitting waves, the opposite of compression is rarefaction. In simple terms, compression is a pushing force.
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Famous quotes containing the word compression:
“Do they [the publishers of Murphy] not understand that if the book is slightly obscure it is because it is a compression and that to compress it further can only make it more obscure?”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)