Explaining the Stress-Strain Curve with a Paperclip

Last week I said I was going to check out what else the Mat Sci Guy had posted, and I found the above video explaining the stress-strain curve 'with a paperclip'.

Again, be warned, his narration is less than exciting, and the level of science can be a little high for at least my students.

But the explanation of how a paperclip can demonstrate the stress-strain curve is really good. He breaks down the elastic and plastic deformation regions of the curve and explains how those changes are different on an atomic level using two-dimensional diagrams while showing that on a macroscopic level with an extra-, extra-large paperclip.

I appreciate him providing the explanation on the macroscopic, symbolic, and particulate levels, something we've seen within the AP chemistry as a recent push.

Oh, and there are fewer corny jokes in this week's video than in last week's. Other than the 'what is a paperclip used for' schtick at the beginning, it's a pretty straight forward video.

The Story of Borosilicate Glass: Why Pyrex was Special

The narration in the above video is not done by a professional. The video would be way more enjoyable if it had been, but the content is high quality enough that I'm going to recommend watching it.

You have been warned.

The video is a narrated slide show (aka Powerpoint) explaining why borosilicate is a great material for glass that is going to be heated or cooled rapidly without shattering.

It does have corny jokes (the Mat Sci Aficionado cover, 'A Glass of Ice and Fire', for example) and some serious chemistry on the atomic scale (the Leonard-Jones scale, coordination numbers), but the video is worth a watch - for the teacher if not maybe for the student, at least not the students in the material science course at Princeton.

The video, by the way, is good enough that I'm going to check out what else The Mat Sci Guy has posted on his YouTube channel.