Original Flava
"Say, Kevin, you have any writing you did for your Engineering classes along?"

This seemed like a strange request from Melissa, who had shown absolutely no interest whatsoever.

"I thought you were sleeping, Mel."

"Nah, I couldn't sleep, so I figured, I've never given you a fair shot at explaining what you're studying."

I was a bit suspicious.

"Sure, Mel, I've got a copy of my final paper for my Senior Design course here... We got an A!"

"I'll read a bit to you."

"In the linear elastic region the cell ligaments bend. As a stress is applied the ligaments bend linearly until the ligaments buckle and yield. This bending produces a linear curve whose slope is equal to Young�s modulus. If the stress is released prior to the yield stress the strain is recoverable and the material receives no net deformation. This is similar to a conventional engineering material.

Once the ligaments yield the plastic region begins. The plastic region consists of a nearly constant stress over a large strain. This is due to the plastic buckling of the ligaments. This �plateau� is ideal for absorbing energy..."

I looked back. Mel was fast asleep, with a little crooked smile on her face.

I get no respect whatsoever.

To tell you the truth though, it's a good thing she fell asleep, or I would have... 1
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