Hardness is the resistance of a material to localized deformation. The term can apply to deformation from indentation, scratching, cutting or bending. In metals, ceramics and most polymers, the deformation considered is plastic deformation of the surface. For elastomers and some polymers, hardness is defined at the resistance to elastic deformation of the surface. The lack of a fundamental definition indicates that hardness is not be a basic property of a material, but rather a composite one with contributions from the yield strength, work hardening, true tensile strength, modulus, and others factors. Hardness measurements are widely used for the quality control of materials because they are quick and considered to be nondestructive tests when the marks or indentations produced by the test are in low stress areas.
There are a large variety of methods used for determining the hardness of a substance.
