Tearing

Tearing is the act of breaking apart a material by force, without the aid of a cutting tool.

A tear in a piece of paper, fabric, or some other similar object may be the result of the intentional effort with one's bare hands, or be accidental.

An exception is a tear along a perforated line, as found on a roll of toilet paper or paper towels, which has been previously partially cut, so the effort of tearing will probably produce a straight line.

Materials can be characterized by standard test methods to measure their tear resistance.

The variables which affect tear strength are defined "the shape of the test piece, speed of stretching and temperature.