plasticity n : the property of being physically malleable; the property of something that can be worked or hammered or shaped under pressure without breaking [syn: malleability] [ant: unmalleability]

English

Noun

1. The quality or state of being plastic.
2. the property of a solid body whereby it undergoes a permanent change in shape or size when subjected to a stress exceeding a particular value (the yield value)

Related terms

• elasticity

Translations

• Chinese: 可塑性 (kě sù xìng)
• Czech: tvárnost
• Dutch: plasticiteit
• French: plasticité
• German: Drehfähigkeit , Fließbarkeit , Formbarkeit , Plastizität , Verformbarkeit
• Italian: plasticità
• Portuguese: plasticidade
• Russian: пластичность
• Spanish: plasticidad

Plasticity generally means ability to permanently change or deform. (It differs from "elasticity", which refers to ability to change temporarily and revert back to original form.)

More specific meanings include:

In the sciences

• Plasticity (physics): In physics and engineering, plasticity is the propensity of a material to undergo permanent deformation under load. In civil engineering, plasticity of a soil is quantitatively determined by Atterberg Limits testing

• Plasticity (psychology): An intelligence factor that determines the ease of changing ones perception of a situation for finding a new solution to a problem. Lack of plasticity is termed rigidity.

• Phenotypic plasticity: Describes the degree to which an organism's phenotype is determined by its genotype

• Neuroplasticity: Entire brain structures can change to better cope with the environment. Specifically, when an area of the brain is damaged and non-functional, another area may take over some of the function. This is known as neuroplasticity.
  • Synaptic plasticity: In neuroscience, plasticity is a property of a neuron or synapse to change its internal parameters in response to its history

• Plasticity (tissues): In body tissues, plasticity refers to the ability of differentiated cells to undergo transdifferentiation

• Plasticity (Cabaret Voltaire album)

In art

• The plastic arts are those, such as clay sculpture, in which material is formed or deformed into a new, permanent shape

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