ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Severe plastic deformation

Hello there!

Do you know what "plastic" means? We're not talking about toys here - plastic materials are things like clay or playdough that can be bent and shaped without breaking.

Now, when we say "deformation", we mean changing the shape of something. So "plastic deformation" is when we change the shape of a plastic material without breaking it.

"Severe" plastic deformation is when we really, really change the shape of the material. This can happen when we apply a lot of force to a small area of the material, like squishing playdough in our hands.

Scientists use something called "high-pressure torsion" to cause severe plastic deformation. Basically, they take a piece of a metal like copper and put it in a special machine. The machine squishes and twists the copper over and over again, until it becomes a lot thinner and longer than it was before.

Why do scientists want to do this? Well, severe plastic deformation changes the way the metal behaves. It becomes stronger and harder, and can even conduct electricity better. This can be very useful in things like electronic devices or even building structures.

So, to sum it up: severe plastic deformation is when we squish and twist a plastic material so much that it becomes really strong and hard. Scientists do this on purpose to make materials better for lots of different uses.