104

xkcd #3115: Unsolved Physics Problems (imgs.xkcd.com)

submitted 1 week ago by xkcdbot@lemmy.world to c/xkcd@lemmy.world

24 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Title text:

'Tin pest' makes more sense to me. Tin just doesn't want to be locked down in a shape like that. I get it. But why would any metal want to grow hair??

Transcript:

Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com

Source: https://xkcd.com/3115/

explainxkcd for #3115

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] Successful_Try543@feddit.org 12 points 1 week ago

Deep in the coating, where the Cu6Sn5 [Remark: intermetallic phase of Sn coating and Cu substrate] is present, the deviatoric strain was high. This indicates that the growth of the intermetallic phase causes plastic deformation of the tin coating.
[...]
A short (4 micrometre) radial gradient in hydrostatic stress was observed around the root of the whisker. This gradient together with long-range diffusion from specific regions could provide the driving force for whisker growth.

https://portal.research.lu.se/en/publications/tin-whiskers-experiments-and-modelling

[-] Lemminary@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Oh, but of course! The deviatoric strain, yes.

this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2025

104 points (98.1% liked)

xkcd

12328 readers

65 users here now

A community for a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

koraro@lemmy.world