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A Simple Microtensometer for Use in Scanning Electron Microscopes

Abstract

STUDIES of service failures, such as fractures, are often inadequate because they are made after the event; in the laboratory failures can be observed as they happen. High speed photography allows study of crack propagation—Fig. 1 shows stages in cracking of tungsten at velocities of 2 km s−1—but magnifications are limited. Less brittle solids fracture more slowly and allow high magnification studies; here I describe a technique which allows study of crack growth and other failure processes by scanning electron microscopy.

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References

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DOBBS, H. A Simple Microtensometer for Use in Scanning Electron Microscopes. Nature 240, 462–463 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/240462a0

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