= Critical resolved shear stress
{title2=$\tau_c$}
The <critical resolved shear stress> is the shear stress on a specified slip system at which dislocation motion produces slip under stated conditions. For simple uniaxial loading, the resolved component is $\tau=\sigma\cos\phi\cos\lambda$, with angles to the slip-plane normal and slip direction.
The threshold depends on material state, temperature, obstacles, and deformation history. A crystal can therefore begin to slip at different applied tensile stresses in different orientations even when the slip system has the same critical resolved threshold.
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