History of Electrum. This gold-silver alloy has a long history of being used by humans. It was used for different purposes since third millennium BC. However, the variation in the gold and silver contents of this alloy made it difficult to decide the value of each coin.
To measure a material's ductility, the tester typically takes a measurement of the material's tensile strength. Tensile strength examines how far the material can stretch without breaking. This ability is similar to malleability, though they each have a slight difference. Instead of measuring tensile strength, or essentially how far the metal can stretch, malleability measures how much pressure a material can take without breaking or cracking.
For the stiffness to weight ratio, see specific modulus. The specific strength is a material's strength (force per unit area at failure) divided by its density. It is also known as the strength-to-weight ratio or strength/weight ratio. In fiber or textile applications, tenacity is the usual measure of specific strength. The SI unit for specific strength is Pa /(kg / m 3), or N Â·m/kg, which is dimensionally equivalent to m 2 /s 2, though the latter form is rarely used.