The Physics of Knives

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This Demonstration shows the force needed for a knife blade of a certain thickness and angle to puncture a surface of a given thickness and type, as well as a contour plot of what parameters a knife must have to puncture a certain target at a certain force. Included is a visual representation of the knife-surface setup. This model assumes an unbreakable blade and an ideal surface that deforms elastically before fracturing.

Contributed by: Elizabeth Ellor (January 2012)
With additional contributions by: John Dell and James Ellor
Open content licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


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