18.1 POISSON'S RATIO
À pAn isotropic material has the same properties in all directions. (materials such as fiber glass do not).
When we apply a stress to an isotropic material in one direction, we induce stress in the perpendicular direction. The resulting ratio between perpendicular stresses, and strains, is called Poisson's Ratio
In physical terms - as we stretch a bar, it becomes a bit thinner.
Consider the simple example below,