Materials in mechanical extremes : fundamentals and applications This unified guide brings together the underlying principles and predictable material responses that connect metals polymers brittle solids and energetic materials as they respond to extreme external stresses. Previously disparate scientific principles concepts and terminology are combined within a single theoretical framework across different materials and scales to provide all the tools necessary to understand and calculate the responses of materials and structures to extreme static and dynamic loading. Real world examples illustrate how material behaviours produce a component response enabling recognition and avoidance of the deformation mechanisms that contribute to mechanical failure. A final synoptic chapter presents a case study of extreme conditions brought about by the infamous Chicxulub impact event. Bringing together simple concepts from diverse fields into a single accessible rigorous text this is an indispensable reference for all researchers and practitioners in materials science mechanical engineering physics physical chemistry and geophysics