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Assuming that there is an inelastic, very low mass, very long, solid rod which is 150 million km long. This distance requires approximately 8.333 minutes for light to travel. If I apply a force at one end, how long is the time taken for the another end to receive the effect of the force? I know that it won't be faster than speed of light but why? Correct me if I have made any mistake.

Chin Huan
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    If the material were inelastic then it would be instantaneous (by definition). This doesn't violate special relativity though because inelastic materials don't actually exist :) – lemon May 06 '16 at 12:10
  • What is the speed of sound in an inelastic material ? – Tofi May 06 '16 at 12:11
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    @VIP - It's infinite. Then again, with the possible exception of unobtanium, there is no such thing as an inelastic material. – David Hammen May 06 '16 at 12:17
  • There would seem to be several different definitions of 'inelastic' - in materials mechanics, it means that the stress-strain response is not linear (which would be elastic), but also that there is no significant net deformation after relieving the stress (which would be plastic). So, from that definition, there certainly is a speed of sound, but there will be lots of dispersion. I'm not sure where the concept of 'inelastic' = no deformation possible comes from. – Jon Custer May 06 '16 at 13:32

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