Ductile metal means it can be stretched into wired. So is it also correct to say that MORE DUCTILE means MORE ELASTICITY?

1 Answer
Sep 19, 2016

Ductile just means it can be pulled into a wire, deforming permanently. But can you stretch that wire, and does that wire have a restoring force that brings it back to its original state? (Does it behave like a rubber band?)

So no, ductile is more accurate than elastic, for metals.

  • Ductility implies the metal can be formed into a wire that when you stop stretching it, stays like that (like clay).
  • Elasticity implies you can stretch the wire, let go, and watch it go back to how it was before you stretched it.

(So, ductility is more applicable to more rigid materials like metals and clay.)