ABSTRACT
The successful development of flexible electronic systems relies on the understanding of fundamentals of the physics of flexibility – why some materials are inherently flexible while others are brittle. In this chapter, we discuss the physical basis of flexibility and brittleness observed in everyday materials, and the parameters affecting these properties. The equations governing the flexing and buckling of a large, thin plate will be discussed in detail because these are the conditions most commonly observed in thin-film electronic systems. The ball-spring model will be presented to understand the behavior of materials under mechanical strain at the atomic level. The fundamental difference in the behavior of polymeric materials under stress compared to inorganic lattices will also be briefly discussed.
