Brittleness, Malleability, And Ductility Of Solids:

The atoms of elemental solids can "stack up" in different ways. This is obvious in the shapes of the crystals we examine in numerous different solid substances. Salt, for illustration, has a characteristic cubical crystalline shape. The same is true for sugar. Ice crystals, though, can emerge in a fantastic range of shapes, though they always have six sides, axes, or facets. Several substances, like iron, do not seem to form crystals under ordinary circumstances. Some materials, like glass, break away along smooth though curved boundaries. Few solids can be ground up into a fine powder, while others defy all efforts to crush them.

The crystalline solids are brittle. When a sample of such a material is subjected to a blow with sufficient force, it will crack or shatter. Such types of solids cannot be squashed or stretched or bent out of shape very much without breaking. Glass is an illustration, though you might have noticed that glass has a little bit of "give." You can examine the flexibility of glass when you watch the reflections from large window panes on a windy day. Though, you cannot bend a straight glass rod into a donut shape.

Soft copper wire, in compare to glass, is malleable (i.e., it can be pounded flat) and ductile (i.e., it can be bent and stretched). The similar is true to some extent of iron. Gold is one of the most malleable called metals. It is very expensive though can be pounded into sheets too thin that towers of buildings can be gold-plated without breaking the government budget. Aluminum is much more ductile and malleable than glass, though not to the extent of soft copper or gold. The wood can be bent to a variable extent, depending on its water content, though cannot be pounded into thin sheets or stretched into wire.

The ductility, brittleness, and malleability of some solids based on the temperature. The Glass, copper, & gold can be made more malleable and ductile by heating. The professional glass blower takes benefit of this phenomenon, as do the coin minter and the wire producer. A person who works with wood has no such fortune. When you heat wood, it gets drier and less flexible. Eventually, when you heat copper, glass, or gold sufficient, it will turn into a liquid. As wood is heated, it will stay solid; then at a certain temperature it will undergo combustion, a quick form of oxidation. Which is, it will catch on fire?