Each material is rendered as a small crystal lattice — atoms as spheres, bonds as struts — whose spacing and bond stiffness reflect that class's real elastic behaviour. Applying a load bends a cantilever beam of the same material using simple beam theory: the tip deflection δ = F·L³ / (3·E·I), where F is the applied force, L the beam length, E the material's Young's modulus and I the cross-section's second moment of area. Stiffer materials (higher E) bend visibly less under the same load.
delta = F * L^3 / (3 * E * I)
sigma = F / A (engineering stress)
fracture when sigma > yield_strength (brittle materials shatter, ductile ones just keep bending)
- Metal — moderate-high E (~200 GPa), ductile: bends and deforms permanently past yield rather than snapping.
- Ceramic — very high E (~380 GPa) but brittle: barely bends at all, then fractures suddenly once stress exceeds its yield strength.
- Polymer — low E (~2.5 GPa), very ductile: flexes a lot under small loads, rarely fractures in this range.
- Composite — engineered E (~70 GPa) blending stiff fibres in a ductile matrix: a middle ground between ceramic stiffness and metal toughness.
- Heat pulse — injects a thermal wave at the beam's fixed end; its front speed is proportional to the material's thermal diffusivity, so metals glow hot end-to-end fast while ceramics and polymers lag.
Real-world relevance: this trade-off between stiffness, ductility and thermal conductivity is exactly what materials engineers weigh when choosing an alloy, a technical ceramic or a fibre composite for an aircraft spar, an engine block or a heat sink.