To be strong you've got to give a little

摘要

How does bone manage to be so tough? It seems that bone contains "sacrificial bonds" that are designed to break under stress. Paradoxically, rupturing these chemical bonds makes bone more durable. Bone has to satisfy two nearly contradictory requirements—it must be stiff without being brittle. To avoid splintering, a stressed bone needs to dissipate energy, like a shock absorber. And nobody is sure how rigid bone manages to absorb the energy.