The quantity , sometimes also called the rigidity, that is experimentally observed to relate stress and strain according to Hooke's law,

(1)

If a force F is applied over an area A, then (1) becomes simply

(2)

where is the change in length as a result of the applied force and l is the original length. The shear modulus therefore has units of pressure.

Bulk Modulus, Hooke's Law, Isothermal Compressibility Coefficient, Lamé Constants, Poisson Ratio, Young's Modulus