Stress

Historically, objects and systems, once established, were thought to be rather rigid. This assumption of stability was first questioned by physicists. Physicists were able to document that all objects can be deformed if enough external force is applied to them. Initial research materials on strain research by physicists led to the introduction of the concept of stress into the modern economic lexicon. Scientifically, stress is defined as a proportional quantity of force that causes deformation in an object or system. That is, stress is a force that acts on something else. Hans Selye, a pioneering Austrian-Canadian endocrinologist, used this definition of stress to describe the nonspecific responses of objects, systems, and individuals to demands placed on them, or what he termed general wear and tear. ...