Barium Fluoride vs. Alpha Quartz
Both barium fluoride and alpha quartz are non-glass optical ceramics.
For each property being compared, the top bar is barium fluoride and the bottom bar is alpha quartz.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 60 | |
| 91 |
| Knoop Hardness | 80 | |
| 740 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.32 | |
| 0.13 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 25 | |
| 31 |
Thermal Properties
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1370 | |
| 1590 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 420 | |
| 720 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 9.0 | |
| 8.5 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 18 | |
| 9.5 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 4.9 | |
| 2.7 |
| Light Transmission Range, µm | 0.15 to 13 | |
| 0.13 to 3.4 |
| Refractive Index | 1.6 | |
| 1.6 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 6.8 | |
| 19 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 27 | |
| 57 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.4 | |
| 4.4 |