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.
Malleability is the quality of something that can be shaped into something else without breaking, like the malleability of clay. Malleability â also called plasticity â has to do with whether something can be molded. Clay (or Play-Doh) is the best example of something with high malleability; it can be sculpted into almost anything, so it's very malleable. A cinder block has no malleability at all; it can't be shaped into anything.