What is plasticity?

Hint: Plasticity is the common characteristics of materials in the fields of material science and physics. If a solid material is bent or changed into a particular desired shape, there will be visible permanent variations to the shape of the solid as a result of the property called plasticity. Therefore this can be considered as a characteristic of the material itself as the changes happen inside it. If the transition of a material from its elastic nature to plastic nature then it is commonly known as the yield of that object.

Complete answer:
The plasticity of a solid material can be expressed as the capability of that material to change accordingly as deformation takes place in its shape. This deformation is a non-reversible variation in the shape of the material which can be considered to be in accordance with the external force we are providing for this. The measure of this quantity called plasticity is done on the basis of the principle of impact deformation which uses a sample with a specific diameter and height deformed by a plate which is free falling with a certain mass. Plastic deformation is mainly shown in the materials which are ductile and malleable in nature. If we take the cast iron which is a brittle material for an example cannot be plastically deformed, even at high temperature. The material, like the glass, can be deformed plastically as the material is not a crystallized solid. Therefore the answer for the question is obtained.



Note:
The opposite of the plasticity can be named as elasticity. Elasticity is the characteristic of an object to come back to the original arrangement in both the size and shape even when you avoid the deforming forces. An elastic material becomes plastic at the yield point.