Tension

In physics, tension is a force on a body directed to produce extension; it can be considered to be negative compression. It is measured in according units (newton, dynes, pound-forces, etc). Tension is the dominant static force acting on such objects as a guitar string or a stretched rubber band.

Hooke's Law states the relation between the stress on an object and the resultant increase in its length.

The word 'tension' is also sometimes used to refer to electrical voltage; this is the usage in the term high-tension line.