Malleability is the ability of a material to undergo cold plastic deformation by bending, twisting, or stretching without breaking. This property allows a material to be reshaped or flattened into thin sheets under compressive forces. For example, metals like gold and copper exhibit high malleability, allowing them to be hammered into thin foils or shaped into various forms without cracking or breaking.
In contrast to malleability, ductility refers to a material's ability to undergo deformation under tensile forces, like stretching or pulling into a wire. While malleability and ductility are related properties, they involve different types of deformation: compressive for malleability and tensile for ductility.
Therefore, the correct definition of malleability from the options provided is: "the ability to undergo cold plastic deformation by bending, twisting, or stretching." This definition accurately captures the essence of malleability as a crucial mechanical property in materials science.
