Mechanostriction

deformation that arises in ferromagnetic, ferrimagnetic, and antiferromagnetic specimens upon application of mechanical stresses that change the magnetic state of the specimens. Mechanostriction is a consequence of magnetostriction: even in the absence of an external magnetic field, mechanical stresses induce displacement of magnetic domain boundaries and rotation of the vectors of their spontaneous magnetization in the sample. This leads to a change in the size of the specimen. When mechanostriction is present, the deformation (for example, elongation) of the specimen is found to be disproportionate to the stress—that is, there is a deviation from Hooke’s law.