What type of stress can porcelain withstand better?

Porcelain is a ceramic material known for its hard and brittle characteristics, which make it particularly resilient to compressive forces. When subjected to compression, porcelain can support a significant amount of weight or pressure without cracking or breaking. This property is crucial for applications such as insulators in electrical systems or structural components where compressive loads are prevalent.

In contrast, porcelain's inherent brittleness limits its performance under tension, shear, and bending stresses. When pulled or stretched (tension), porcelain is prone to cracking. Under shear forces, it also lacks the requisite ductility to deform without failure. Bending, which combines both tensile and compressive forces, poses a similar challenge because the tensile side can easily break.

Thus, the superiority of porcelain in withstanding compressive stress highlights its suitability for various practical applications where strength and resilience against compressive loads are required, underscoring the importance of understanding material properties in the field of electrical work.