Brittleness synonyms

The crystalline structure which exists on both sides becomes visible only in the metals of the first class, and only there manifests itself as brittleness.

The presence of a small quantity of the hard cementite ought naturally to strengthen the mass, by opposing the tendency of the soft ferrite to flow under any stress applied to it; but more cementite by its brittleness naturally weakens the mass, causing it to crack open under the distortion which stress inevitably causes.

The carboncontent of steel is rarely greater than this, lest the brittleness be excessive.

This brittleness has therefore in general to be mitigated or " tempered," unfortunately at the cost of losing part of the hardness proper, by reheating the hardened steel slightly,

But in most such cases, in spite of the annealing, this hardness is accompanied by a degree of brittleness too great for most purposes.