The Impact of Temperature on Materials (with Zac Nye)

Zac Nye explains demonstrates impact testing and the influence of temperature on the properties of both metals and chocolate.

Running time: ~30 min

This is a video in which Zac Nye introduces impact testing and how materials scientists can use this technique to measure the toughness of materials. He uses a range of chocolate bars, a portable tester and a flask of liquid nitrogen (-178°C, brrrr!!) to show a range of ways materials break and that this can be affected by the temperature.

He then demonstrates a large impact tester, from the lab at Swansea University, to show the different ways that brass and steel break. He then discusses how the way it breaks can be explained by looking at the fracture surface.

Prefer to skip through?

0min 08s  Introduction

0min 17s   What is impact testing and what does it measure?

1min 09s   Introduction to the tests

2min 10s  Impact testing of chocolate

3min 27s  Impact testing of room temperature (Experiments)

6min 57s  Impact testing of room temperature chocolate (Results)

7min 27s Impact testing of liquid nitrogen dipped chocolate (Experiments)

10min 40s Impact testing of liquid nitrogen dipped chocolate (Results)

14min 42s Impact testing of metals (steel and brass)

19min 25s Comparison of impact tests of chocolate and metals

22min 51s Fracture surfaces

27min 07s Summary

27min 38s Discussion (Zac Nye and Chris Hamlett)

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