Using Visualizing Strain to Visualize Homogenous Strain
Visualizing Strain can be used to gain an intuitive grasp of the main characteristics of homogeneous strain. With Visualizing Strain running complete the following tasks.
Click on the Circle Radii button at the top left part of the screen. It should be the third button from the left. In the graphics window a circle showing 36 radii should be visible.
Click a few times on the Increment button which is located just to the right of the Circle Radii button. In the graphics window the circle showing 36 radii should have changed to an ellipse.
During your experiment observe that the radii of the initial circle remained straight after any of the various increments of strain that you subjected them to. Now imagine a series of identical circles with identically placed radii embedded in a rock body undergoing homogeneous strain. Given such an arrangement prior to straining any given radii would have a parallel counterpart in any other given circle. Following the above experiment after an increment of strain, the radii would change positions as their end points move from lying on the circumference of a circle to lying on an ellipse, but nevertheless would remain straight lines. Thus, throughout the deforming rock body straight lines that existed before deformation remain straight and parallel after deformation, and perfect circles are transformed into perfect ellipses.