Over the past decades, it has been well established that the mechanical behavior of materials changes when they are confined geometrically at least in one dimension to small scale. It is the aim of the 2010 Gordon Conference on "Thin Film and Small Scale Mechanical Behavior" to discuss cutting-edge research on elastic, plastic and time-dependent deformation as well as degradation mechanisms like fracture, fatigue and wear at small scales. As in the past, the conference will benefit from contributions from fundamental studies of physical mechanisms linked to material science and engineering reaching towards application in modern applications ranging from optical and microelectronic devices and nano- or micro-electrical mechanical systems to devices for energy production and storage. The conference will feature entirely new testing methodologies and in situ measurements as well as recent progress in atomistic and micromechanical modeling. Particularly, emerging topics in the area of energy conversion and storage, such as material for batteries will be highlighted. The study of small-scale mechanical phenomena in systems related to energy production, conversion or storage offer an enticing opportunity to materials scientists, who can provide new insight and investigate these phenomena with methods that have not previously been exploited.