Difference between revisions of "Lower stiffness of smaller machinery"

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m (Even diamond becomes soft like jelly - not a problem though: link to Same relative deflections across scales)
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[[Intuitive feel]] related:
 
[[Intuitive feel]] related:
* [[The feel of atoms]]
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* [[The feel of atoms]] – about what "diamond getting jelly soft" intuitively means

Revision as of 10:05, 28 September 2022

A rod is the stiffer ...

  • the bigger its cross-section A (∝L²) is and
  • the shorter its length l (∝L¹) is.

The geometry dependent stiffness (aka spring constant) k [N/m] is calculated from
the geometry independent stiffness (aka elastic modulus) E [N/m²] as such:
[math]k = E ~ (A/l) \propto L^1[/math]
Thus geometry dependent stiffness falls when shrinking the size of machinery (while keeping the same material).
Also covered on page about Scaling laws.

Even diamond becomes soft like jelly - not a problem though

With scaling down machinery to smaller sizes the stiffness of this machinery falls.
One millionth the size => One millionth the stiffness. See related page: Scaling law.
This makes even diamond jelly soft.
Which poses an obvious question:
Q: Could this maybe be a serious problem?
A: Perhaps surprisingly the answer is: No. At least for the most part. I.e. only thermal motions are of concern.
Math covered on page: Same relative deflections across scales

Important are deflection magnitudes rather than spring constants

What is relevant are relative deflections rather the geometry dependent stiffness of the material.
So how do deflections scale?

As it turns out the relative deflections / strains from ...

  • accelerations of machinery scale with L0 (scale invariant - nice!).
  • gravity scale with L¹. – (Large machines suffocating under their own weight. A known macroscale problem.)
  • thermal motions scale with TODO. – (Relevant for piezomechanosynthesis and unguided covalent welding)

For the math deriving these scaling laws see Page:
Same relative deflections across scales

Misc

(wiki-TODO: explain the following)

  • The consequences on design constraints based no this falling stiffness

Related


Thermal motion related:


Intuitive feel related: