Concrete is the most common artificial composite material of all and typically consists of loose stones (aggregate) held with a matrix of cement. Concrete is a very robust material, much more robust than cement, and will not compress or shatter even under quite a large compressive force.
2) Y-axis contains absolute brightness Why do astronomers use the H-R Diagram? Astronomers use H-R Diagrams to classify stars and to understand how stars change over time.
There are two ways to measuring the brightness of a star, apparent magnitude is the brghtness seen from Earth, and absolute magnitude which is the brightness of a star seen from a standard distance of 10 parsecs (32.6 light years).