Flexural testing involves the bending of a material, rather than pushing or pulling, to determine how much the material can bend before it breaks, as well as the relationship between bending stress and deflection. It is commonly used on brittle materials such as ceramics, stone, masonry and glasses. It can also be used to examine the behavior of materials which are intended to bend during their useful life, such as wire insulation and other elastomeric products. This testing is used to determine the flexure or bending properties of a material. Sometimes referred to as a transverse beam test, it involves placing a sample between two knife-edge points and initiating a load at the midpoint of the sample. Maximum stress and strain are calculated on the incremental load applied. Results are shown in a graphical format with tabular results including the flexural strength (for fractured samples) and the yield strength (samples that did not fracture).