eli5: On a molecular level, what causes elastic things to return to their original shape after being bent?
In: Physics
When something is bent out of shape within its elastic bounds, the molecules retain their structure in relation to the other molecules. However, the intermolecular bonds are stretched. Whenever those bonds stretch beyond a certain point (elastic/inelastic transition point), the object can’t return to the exact original shape because some of those bonds break and shift to other molecules. Think of it like pulling a magnet on a string attached to a piece of metal. If you pull hard enough on that string, the magnet will pull off of the metal piece and jump to another.
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