Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Slabs of uniform agar gels were cut into standard shapes of various sizes and their deformation under a small compressive force was measured in an Instron Universal Testing machine. The deformation of rectangular solids and regular cylinders with vertical axes was found to be directly proportional to the specimen height and inversely proportional to the cross‐sectional area. The deformation of regular cylinders with horizontal axes was inversely proportional to the length and was a linear function of the diameter. Deformation of spheres first increased to a maximum, then decreased as the diameter increased giving an inverted <jats:italic>V</jats:italic>‐shaped curve. The diameter at which the maximum deformation of spheres occurred depended on the agar concentration in the gel and the magnitude of the deforming force.</jats:p>