How moving cracks in brittle solids choose their path

Abstract: While we fundamentally understand the dynamics of 'simple' cracks propagating in brittle solids within perfect (homogeneous) materials, we do not understand how paths of moving cracks are determined. We experimentally study strongly perturbed cracks that propagate between 10-95\% of their limiting velocity within a brittle material. These cracks are deflected by either interaction with sparsely implanted defects or via an intrinsic oscillatory instability in defect-free media. Dense, high-speed measurements of the strain fields surrounding the crack tips reveal that crack paths are governed by the direction of maximal strain energy density. This fundamentally important result may be utilized to either direct or guide running cracks.