Embrittlement
Embrittlement is a big word that means something becomes very breakable or fragile. Imagine you have a toy car that you play with every day, and it never breaks. Now imagine that one day, the car is so weak that when you pick it up, it falls apart in your hands. That's what it means for something to become brittle or embrittled.
When materials are exposed to certain things like heat, pressure, radiation, or certain chemicals, they can start to become embrittled. This often happens to things like pipes, bolts, and other metal parts that are used in buildings, bridges, or airplanes.
Embrittlement can make these materials much more likely to break apart, which can be very dangerous. For example, if a metal bolt holding up part of a building becomes embrittled and then breaks, the building could collapse.
So, it's important to make sure that materials used in construction, engineering, and manufacturing processes don't become embrittled. This often involves using special materials that are resistant to embrittlement, or taking steps to protect the materials from exposure to things that can cause embrittlement.
When materials are exposed to certain things like heat, pressure, radiation, or certain chemicals, they can start to become embrittled. This often happens to things like pipes, bolts, and other metal parts that are used in buildings, bridges, or airplanes.
Embrittlement can make these materials much more likely to break apart, which can be very dangerous. For example, if a metal bolt holding up part of a building becomes embrittled and then breaks, the building could collapse.
So, it's important to make sure that materials used in construction, engineering, and manufacturing processes don't become embrittled. This often involves using special materials that are resistant to embrittlement, or taking steps to protect the materials from exposure to things that can cause embrittlement.