What is Hardness?
'''Hardness''' is a measure of how much a material resists changes in shape. Hard things resist pressure. Some examples of hard materials are [[diamond]], [[boron carbide]], [[quartz]], tempered [[steel]], [[ice]], [[granite]], [[concrete]]. Ability of material to resist wear, tear, scratching, abrasion cutting is called hardness. Harder materials are more difficult to cut and shape than softer ones. They are also usually more [[wikt:brittle|brittle]] which means they do not bend much but can shatter. Hard materials are used in cutting tools, machines and construction materials and other industrial goods. Hardness tests are important in [[materials science]]. The [[Mohs scale of mineral hardness]] tests the hardness of [[mineral]]s. The [[Brinell scale]] and various compression tests and rebound tests are more used for metals and artificial materials. {{-}} {{physics-stub}} == Weblink == * [http://www.hegewald-peschke.com/info-bereich/guidelines-to-hardness-testing.html Guidelines to hardness testing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128201037/http://www.hegewald-peschke.com/info-bereich/guidelines-to-hardness-testing.html |date=2012-11-28 }} [[Category:Materials science]] [[Category:Physics]] [[Category:Physical properties]]